Dance with the Devil
by VesperChan
Summary: She thought they were all dead, but one by one the deceased members of the Akatsukie start showing up on her doorstep, whether she wants them to or not.
1. I

When _the_ **Dead** Decide _to_ **Dance  
Dance **_with __the _**Devil**

.˙.†.˙.

.˙.˙.

˙.˙

Say goodbye,  
As we dance with the devil tonight  
Don't you dare look at him in the eye  
As we dance with the devil tonight  
_-Breaking Benjamin _

. : .

.˙.˙.

.

"You're not lost are you?" she asked the handsome man, doubting her sanity in asking _him_ of all people such a question.

It was raining all around them, but being out in the misty forest they were both spared the brute of the storm thanks to the thick branches. It wasn't even raining all that hard, so they had no reason to be worried. At least _she_ didn't; Sakura was still deciding if she should let the man in front of her live or leave him to the elements to dispose of. It was a tempting offer to say the least, considering just who exactly he was.

The earth underfoot was wet, smelling thickly of grasses and mint—an herb that thrived in this type of whether. If she had been anyone else, she might have been cold, but the black, long-sleeve shirt and leggings of the same color was enough to keep her comfortable. Good thing ninja gear had so many practical uses. A trail of nicely planted footprints led up to where Sakura stood, but when she looked there was no such trail for the other person.

"Can you speak?"

Her only reply was a heavy breathing and the sound of raindrops splattering in the mud.

That didn't bewilder her at all. She didn't think he would say anything to her even if he could, since he looked to be the personification of death warmed over. He was one of Pein's bodies after all. The Ningendō, is she remembered correctly: the Human path. When it came to Pein, the villain that led the latest and greatest large scale invasion against Leaf to date, nothing he did should come as a surprise or shock to anyone who knew his name. That sort of monster was on a whole other level—one she knew nothing about. He claimed to be a god, and for all she knew and had seen of his awesome power, he very well could have been.

She had been there the day he dragged hell up from the beneath the earth and into her village. She had been there when Orochimaru had attacked her village as well, but there was something greater from the Ame nin. His power was untamable and completely raw. It frightened her much more than the sinister evil of even Orochimaru.

A part of the attack flashed through her mind and she failed to repress a shiver that shot down all through her body. There she was, standing on ground that wasn't ground anymore, but more of a part of the falling sky while monsters of twisted and demented stature ravaged human beings. Was this what hell was like?

"Do you know where you are?" she asked him.

Still nothing from the injured being. His lips were chapped and breaking up. He probably hadn't said anything to anyone in a long while.

She tossed a wet twig in his direction and it hit his limp foot. There was no reaction, not even from his eyes to suggest he was aware of the action. That wasn't like a ninja at all. Ninjas knew and saw everything—no matter how small and insignificant.

Deciding it was worth the risk, she set her basket of healing herbs down and reached for a knife. She twirled it once, getting the feel of it in case she needed to use it. Whether it could do anything against him was yet to be seen, but she would sure as hell put up a good fight if he tried anything with her.

Softly, slowly, stealthily, like a good shinobi should, she crept towards him till she was close enough to reach out and touch his face. The hideously cold metal that had pierced him all over was gone, leaving raw and bleeding flesh behind. She reached out and probed it with her chakra, keeping her hand from actually making direct contact with his skin. He stiffened, but didn't do anything more than that. He was too weak to move much, she deduced.

She pocketed the knife in an easy to reach place and grabbed the man by the arms and pulled him forward. She bent him over to inspect him—never minding that she might be making him less than comfortable with her brutal probing. He could rot in hell for all she cared. He deserved it for what he did to her friends, her village, and what was left of her life.

His hair, once a fiery orange, now had receded to its original color; a light gray-blue. His eyes, weak and weary as they were, still gleamed a healthy green showing his determination to survive. If anything, she begrudgingly admired that in him. It was just pathetic when someone gave up and didn't fight for what was left of their life, even if it was someone like him who had done so much evil to her and her kind—

'_Wait, what—green?'_

She took another look at his eyes and found that, yes, in fact his eyes were a lovely shade of green and lacked all the rings she knew he was supposed to have. And even the color was off. His eyes were supposed to be gray, devoid of all color, not so full of brightness like this. Before she could deduce much more, long lashes slid down and his lids were closed, blocking off her sight of his newly transformed orbs.

She ran her hands over his body, not quite touching, but probing with the glow of her chakra. From what she could make of him in his sitting position, he was tall and slender, suffering only minor injury on top of exhaustion, and he was built for speed and stealth. He wasn't as bulky as she expected him to be; true, he had a nice physique, but it more so resembled a cat's than a cage fighter's. That was interesting to know for later matters.

The rest of the body piercings had been shed as well, and by the looks of it they had been out no more than a day, three tops if he came from somewhere with better weather. His shoes were caked with mud and dead leaves, the same kind that were abundant in the misty woods up in the mountains. She checked further and found some grains of sand, maybe a few rocks, but there was nothing else to work with within the grooves. They looked just like hers.

"Where the hell did you come from?" she tried again. "And what happened to you?"

He remained unspeaking and she doubted he even heard her.

There was blood, both old and new, trickling out of minor cuts all over his body and bruises peppered his pale skin, now almost translucent enough to show up the veins underneath. He would most likely die if she left him to himself. It was late in the year and soon the dusk would make way for night, bring with her the cold and chill. And if Mother Earth wasn't enough, the animals who stalked these lands would make quick work of his carcass. Wolves were howling on and off all last night over something close by. They were pretty far from the nearest village, her house being purposely removed from most society. There wouldn't be anyone else coming up to save him.

"What should I do with you? I can't help you because I hate you, but I can't kill you right here because I'm a medic and have taken an oath that I'll honor till I die. I can't even leave you because that would be just as bad as killing you, myself!" Frowning at his unmoving form she leaned in closer. "Do you even care what I do?"

"..."

"Of course you don't."

Only the rain all around them broke the sluggish silence. Not even his breath was loud enough to be heard over the pattering of raindrops on grass anymore. He was withering away more and more by the minute now. If she was going to do anything she would need to do it soon before he died right in front of her.

Sakura sighed deeply, brushing her bangs back and sweeping them over to the side, only to have them fall back into her line of vision. There was no metal band of loyalty to hold it back anymore and she was more conscious of that fact now more than ever before. Cursing her deeply rooted consciousness, she grabbed him and managed to shift his body onto her shoulder before standing up, a scowl ghosting behind her visible expression before she plunged into the dying rain and rising mist.

"I had better not regret this in the morning."

Somewhere out in the wilderness a wolf was howling all on its own, a lonesome figure ushering in the darkness.

* * *

"Damn it!" The whole room shook.

"How can he keep moving like this?" Naruto snarled, throwing a lamp across the room. The lighting fixture hit the opposing wall but fell unharmed to the floor, being made of a cheap and durable plastic. Neji watched wordlessly from the doorway, his expression unchanged.

"Naruto-san, please calm down." Lee came up behind his friend and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Getting upset will not help anyone, and it most certainly will not bring your friends back. You know I don't like this any more than you do, none of us do, but we need to deal."

Naruto fished his hands in his wild blond hair, grabbing a good chuck of it between his curling fingers with frustration. "It's just too damn frustrating. How much longer before you and Neji are Guy are gone, or what about Kiba and Tenten? What's to happen to them once Danzo catches sight of them? He's banishing people on false claims left and right. It's all screwed up and theres nothing I can do about it. I don't want to _deal,_ I want to _do_ something about it!"

"We know that, but Kakashi can take care of himself. He not the kind to keel over and die from something like this. We must be optimistic!" Lee rallied, even though he felt like he was one of the biggest targets during this reign of terror. "Neji and Kiba are key figures in their clans so Danzo can't touch them. And you're a hero for killing Pein, so everyone loves you! That is even better status than a high-ranked clan! All we must do is wait for our time, so cheer up!" Neji remained silent, appearing impassive as he watched the exchange between the two.

Naruto's shoulders slumped and he let the rest of his body fall into an awaiting chair, crushing old ramen cups and chopsticks. He looked tired and worn thin, and it wasn't surprising considering how much effort he had put into bringing his friends back as well as keeping the ones he had. Too many had been lost. All of it seemed like one big bad song that kept repeating in his head and just wouldn't go away. He felt like he was still waiting to wake up from it all and return to reality.

How could the way he was living now be true and right?

Just then Neji looked up and spoke, feeling as if he needed to contribute something. "Just like Yamato, Kakashi will most likely seek out Sakura, wherever she is and be safe there until they are granted pardon. Getting so worked up over something like this shows just how little you really trust your friends."

"Ah, yes, he is right Naruto-kun. You must have more faith in our friends! Sakura-san will surely rally this righteous cause till the day of judgment."

"Sakura..."

How long had it been since he had last seen his old teammate and drug-like obsession? Once Danzo came into power, she was one of the first to be banished after refusing to join his ranks, along with several other scientists and medics who had been close to Tsunade.

There had been some bogus charge about the group practicing forbidden spells and jutsu during their work. Something about reviving the dead, or something close to that. The memory was a hazy one and it didn't help that there was no official documentation of the event-it had all been a sort of under the cover of darkness event. In any other time or place these sort of acts from the government would not be tolerated, but there was no one with a high enough authority to oppose Danzo. The council had originally been established to keep the Hokage in check, but with this particular administration Danzo held the council in chains.

Sakura had been seventee when she was banished, and it had been three years since then. She was twenty and soon she would be twenty one if he remembered correctly, in a few months once dear old winter came and died to make way for spring. Once that happened she would have been gone four years from the village of Leaf. He hoped and prayed with all he had that one day soon she would be cleared of the false charges and welcomed back from her martyrdom.

_'If she's still alive.'_

Naruto felt his heart jump in his chest and almost whimpered at the thought. There was no way something would have ever happened to Sakura, it couldn't! Even if he hadn't heard a word from her since before she was exiled, that didn't mean she was extinguished! She was alive and well, waiting till her day when home would be open to her again. Of course she was waiting for that day. There wasn't anywhere else in the world she could be at home. Of course she would come back to Leaf, and to him...for sure!

"...Where do you think Kakashi went?" Naruto spoke up.

"Other than to find other exiled friends?" Neji asked.

"Yeah, where would he find them?"

Lee shared a look with Neji than shrugged. "I haven't a clue, Naruto-kun, but I am sure it is somewhere safe and far away from here where Danzo cannot find them."

"But _where?_" Naruto strained the last word. "Where are they?"

Neji looked up, frowning at the tone his friend was taking on. "Naruto, that is not something we should be discussing. You should trust Kakashi's judgment. Wherever he is, there must be a good chance he's near her." This was code for 'immediately drop this subject; spies will take it straight to Danzo.' Heaven knows it wouldn't be the first time.

Before anything more could be said there was a knock at the door. All three stiffened, not familiar with the chakra. Neji got up and tensed and Lee loosened up, ready to rip wild if need be. Seeing as how it was his house, Naruto got up and approached the door, hesitated, and then undid the lock. Waiting outside was a masked ANBU officer who had a nasty sort of feel swelling about him. There was a stink too, from blood and sweat many days old. It didn't take long to guess from the short sword and tattoo on his arm where he was from. _ROOT_.

He was one of Danzo's men.

"Yes?" Naruto asked.

Without a word a scroll was thrust forward. Naruto took it, opened it and scanned the contents before frowning. When he looked up the ANBU officer was still there, like an eerie statue in an old, abandoned house. "You have a mission from Danzo-sama. Please accept."

_'I don't think I have a choice about this,_' he thought to himself glancing back down at his scroll.

There was a seal at the end that he activated with a bit of his chakra and in a second, the scroll was no more than ash in his hands. Seeing that the contents of the mission would not be shared, the ANBU from ROOT bowed, turned and exited the apartment floor just like any other normal civilian would. This unnerved Naruto since he was used to watching them all poof up in a cloud. The ROOT member seemed to just as much be saying, "We have such control, we have no need for the skills of shinobi."

Not waiting to be told anything more, Naruto shut the door and turned back around to face his friends.

"When are you leaving?" Neji asked, once he returned.

"Tonight. I guess I won't be going with you guys for dinner tonight. I have to pack and be gone before the hour is up."

"When you get back I shall treat up to a delicious meal for sure," Lee said ever the optimist.

"Sure, thanks Lee."

There was something wrong in Naruto's voice and both men picked up on it right away. Lee and Neji shared a look. Something about Naruto's mission was putting him on edge and taking the bite out of his eyes. Even so, no one brought up the subject of the mission for the good of their friendship and quite frankly, their lives.

* * *

Somewhere out there, far far away, there is a grave.

There are one hundred and one different tombstones, some with holes opened in front of them, some with high mounds from freshly covered graves, and others with long-covered mounds.

A pair of ninja with short swords on their backs are digging the graves for two more dead. One of them pauses to look over his work and eyeball the size of the hole. He estimates that his work is deep enough for the person it will be holding.

A third ninja is examining the bodies on a bleached white sheet. There is blood on his fingers as he removes the one good eye he has been instructed to retrieve and place it in a small glass container, round in shape and not very long. He looks down at the unmoving body of the dead ninja and then down at his prize.

Finished with his work, the surgeon steeps away from the body and lets the other two wraps his long, thin frame in that same white clothe, never mind that there are blood splatters around the head and chest. The stain around his chest is from the wound dealt to his heart after a five-hour long battle that resulted in the deaths of the seven other hunters.

The dead man was one who would not go down without a fight, and for a while there it seemed like he would triumph, but the numbers won out in the end and he fell. He bled among the piles of mutilated and mangled bodies and would never serve another purpose but to add his number to a gruesome mass. He was no different than the one hundred and one others who had come before him.

_Just like all the rest he fell._

"Do we say anything for him?"

"No, just finish the hole," the gruff older one answers.

Not one to talk back to his elders, the talented young lad does as he is told and stabs his shovel into the dirt, hauling load after load over the corpse until you can see no more white. He comrade joins in and soon there is a fresh mount in front of the newest tombstone. Neither uses any chakra to rush the work; the job they were doing was a solemn one.

The third, who had taken the eyeball, comes over to the tombstone and makes sure the inscription is correct before patting the head and walking away. His comrades are not at all close to him when they hear his words, but because of who they are, they hear it all the same.

"_And so passes a legend._"

A span of silence lasts less than a minute, but it seems like the whole world stops spinning for that short period of time, dragging it on forever. They may have been enemies, operating under different leaders and serving different, opposing ideals, but they were still shinobi at the end of the day, and as shinobi of honorable standing they knew when to be reverent.

The gruff one starts to walk away first, having the least amount of difficulty with the atmosphere.

Then the surgeon leaves, the detached eyeball safe in hand.

The youngest follows close behind. "I still think we should have said something."

"Control your emotions."

"Yes, sir."

But the last to leave with the fourth member. He had not lifted a finger in either the fight or burial. He approached the grave, and stopped at the base of the raised mound. He reached up and pulled off the mask that covered his face and exposed himself to the dead for only a brief moment.

It was enough for him.

Closing his pitch colored eyes, the young ROOT member lifted his mask onto his face again and turned his back on the grave. He was thankful for the face covering, because he was sure his features were betraying something he knew he wasn't _supposed_ to be feeling.

"Sai, quit lagging."

"Yes sir."

The grave grew quiet once more. The extra tombstone marked one hundred and two fallen.

* * *

_Written by Vesper chan_  
_Beta edited by StormDragon666  
(AN: A big round of applause has to go to Storm for her amazing help in beta editing this for me. I am thrilled to be working with such a skilled author on this piece.) _

Who do you think they buried at the end? You might just be wrong.

**Please Review.**


	2. II

_Standard disclaimer applied_

_Written by Vesper chan_  
_Beta edited by StormDragon666  
(AN: A big round of applause has to go to Storm for her amazing help in beta editing this for me. I am thrilled to be working with such a skilled author on this piece.)_

_

* * *

_

Chapter Two

-

_I am going away for a while  
But I'll be back don't try and follow me  
'Cause I'll return as soon as possible  
See I'm trying to find my place  
And it might not be here where I feel safe  
We all learn to make mistake  
_-Paramore

-

It was autumn in Iwa, the Land of Stone, or it was at least close to being autumn. The rainy season was wrapping up and the chills were growing more and more brutal as the days went by. Everywhere there were signs of the upcoming winter, from the rabbits changing color, to the trees shedding their most valuable leaves. In a few weeks, all the herbs she wanted to collect would be dead, so she really should have been hurrying with those instead of messing around with potentially dangerous nuke nin.

Sakura shivered, coughing into her shoulder. She didn't particularly like the cold, not matter how long she had spent in it. It's true, she didn't mind it so much after living with it for so long, but she was still used to the relatively warm winters of her Leaf and the even warmer summers. They didn't even get snow unless it was a pretty drastic season, and even then it would usually melt in mere hours.

Sakura grumbled at the thought, stopping at a steep part in the path she was taking back to her house. To her, snow looked pretty enough on its own, but it was a real pain in the rear end to deal with, almost as bad as the frozen water pipes that had such a long way to run to fuel her warm showers.

Her house was far from the nearest village, giving her plenty of privacy and room to work without being disturbed. By ox cart, it was a lofty journey and not one attempted lightly. On a rare occasion, a few desperate villagers would make the hike up to her house with a sick person and beg her for help. The doctors and medical personnel in Stone were pompous and overconfident in their talent and refused to work for riffraff or anyone that wasn't finically well off or even noble in stature.

All the same, being so far removed from society, Sakura didn't have need to worry about being discovered as she brought a near dead Akatsuki member back to health—something she was still hesitant about. Even if he didn't seem to be one of the most notorious members, he was still a criminal in her eyes, worthy of execution.

She pulled his limp body through the door, heaving him back up on her back as he slid down on her. She had known he was tall, known it when she found him, but now she knew that once able to stand on his own, he would tower over her. His legs and feet trailed across the ground behind her, as she fumbled with the seal on her back door while still holding onto her herbs.

Once inside she tossed her basket aside and set him down on the ground. Free again, she ran inside to fetch a blanket, white and clean that would be used to wrap around him. With her natural strength she hauled him onto her couch and began to get to work on his wounds and injuries.

"God..." she sighed, taking in the scene before her. She still couldn't believe she was actually going to what she was preparing for. She should have just left him out in the rain, and yet it was as if it wasn't _her_ carrying him back and setting him up for aid, but instead she was watching a movie or through someone else's eyes.

Some of the holes left behind from his piercings looked infected and had started to swell. Those were the first thing she set to, using a good chunk of time and energy decontaminating every hole and tear from his former life. She didn't have time to be embarrassed when she saw that they went down his legs and required the removal of his pants. One of his legs looked like it was fractured, but she wouldn't have enough chakra to heal it all at once, so he would have to be put in a cast.

He choked, and then shivered under her hands, causing her to halt. She though he was waking up, but was wrong. He was only murmuring in his sleep. Whatever he was dreaming about probably wasn't pleasant. There were tears under his eyelashes, trapped there never to fall. Even in sleep he seemed like a proud man.

She left his side for a moment and returned with a package of sterilized tools. She ripped it open and pulled out a needle with black horsehair thread through the eye. There was one rather nasty tear down his chest that needed stitches. She didn't have enough chakra in reserve to heal all of it, and there was no room in the medic-nin practice for half-assed work.

"I've used enough chakra today as it is and now I have to heal someone who is practically dead." She scoffed quietly.

She tied off the end of his stitches and threw the needle in a trash bin across the room. Next, she took a warm cloth and began to clean away the places were dirt and muck still clinging to his skin. The black stitches were waterproof, so she didn't have to worry about avoiding them. Once he was clean she wrapped him in a second blanket.

She collapsed against his side, her sight going black and then white on her as she convulsed under the lack of chakra running in her body. She should have passed out by now, but she hadn't for some reason. Biting back resolve, she stood and stumbled along the walls till she got to her bed. Her body was burning up like a fever, so she stripped of her shirt and let the bindings fall away. She had her shorts still around her leg when the exhaustion became too much to stay awake through.

She didn't remember falling into her bed-sheets or curling around them, but she did, muttering curses all along at how powerless she still seemed to be.

-

No more than a few hours later the door she had forgotten to re-seal creaked open. A man dressed in black chuckled, taking the dead seal between his fingers and peeling it all the way off of the inside door. Discarding it on the floor, he crossed the room with his cargo in hand, dragging it behind him without much thought. He stopped at the bedside of the unnamed man who had formally served as a host for the one named Pein.

Dropping his limp cargo alongside the couch, he took the pale face of the sleeping man in one hand and roughly turned it over several times to inspect the wounds from the removed piercings. Satisfied, he let the head fall back into the pillow a little too roughly for a sick man.

"It seems like she has been taking care of you well." A pause. "Hmph, undeserving _swine_."

Turning away from the man and his discarded, or maybe _forgotten_, cargo, he slipped past the narrow hallways in back and opened up a gray door that lead downstairs into her lab. There were seals everywhere, just like he expected there to be, but they were nothing he couldn't handle. Soon he was in the heart of things without having disturbed a fly. She would never know anything.

There were papers both neatly stacked and messily scattered everywhere, stored alongside jars of God knows what and beakers of temperamental liquids. Special herbs that needed to be kept cold were hanging from the ceiling on a cord. Scrolls were stuffed anywhere there was room, creating even more clutter.

There was a chest somewhere he wanted to check out and see for himself. He never had any intention of taking from her, heavens no. He was actually planning on leaving her some things over the course of the next year, if she would have them. She was, after all, exceedingly important to his plans and he had more than reason for keeping her safe.

The chest he was looking for was neatly filed away into the wall, in a drawer that slid out on metal rails. He looked inside, opened the container and smiled at what he saw. It was dark, previously immobile and for all intent and purposes, dead. He stroked the item slowly, feeling the life pushed out from beneath it and almost snickered in amusement.

"How long has it been since you've tasted this side of existence, young one? Ages, I would imagine. Poor girl has no idea what is lurking in her basement. But you would be too much of a burden on her just yet, so you will have to stay quiet for now."

The item under his hand shivered almost in protest and pulsed stronger. The man chuckled deeply to himself while closing the lid and sliding the drawer back into the wall and reapplying the academy-level seal once more.

Now there was only one more thing to do.

Back up the stairs and past the living room, he didn't pause for anything till he was at her bedroom door. He stopped on the threshold and touched the doorframe while his eyes strained under a new and sudden pain.

Sakura was breathing soundly and silently in her bed, her white sheets a mess around her, exposing her bare back and ankles. He almost reached out to her, but she stirred in her sleep, so he paused. When she didn't wake again he crossed the distance to her bed and stood over her. Leaning over her, a strand of black hair fell over his ear, so he pushed it back.

"Don't wake up just yet. I'm too close to what I want."

He reached over her, his long arm stretching all the way over to the other side of her bed before something light and gold slipped out of his sleeve and landed next to Sakura's hand. If luck was smiling on her, she wouldn't turn in her sleep and knock it over. All the same, it was bright enough to catch her attention no matter where it rolled.

His mission completed, the tall man with long black hair stood straight, backed away and disappeared from her home, leaving no evidence of ever having visited in the first place. No evidence, that is, except the package that lay limp against the couch.

-

"Fuck no."

Sakura stood livid before the limp forms that seemed to have multiplied overnight. She reached up rubbed her face and blinked once or twice. Still no change. "How the hell did something like that happen?" she asked aloud, knowing no one would bother to answer her.

Sakura was sure she had carried a limp nuke nin into her house and saved his ungrateful ass from death, but if her memory was still working right—_and it wa_s—she had only dragged _one_ nuke nin into her home, not two!

Leaning against the couch was a second body, resembling very much the first with holes all over from having lost his metal piercings. While she remembered treating the Human Path of Pein's bodies, she had never before so much as seen the Animal Path of Pein's bodies, let alone touched it. And yet, there he sat, next to his partner in crime, his hair still a healthy shade of orange and two of his bolts still in his ears.

Sakura reached out to touch his face and found it smooth and warm. He was healthy, suffering only minor bruising and sores from harshly removed bolts on various areas on his body. He didn't need as much help as his friend, but all the same, he was not to be ignored. If those sores were as nasty as she thought they were, he probably had them infected.

"You're shitting me," she huffed, running her nails though her hair and brushing them back.

Closing her eyes and inhaling deeply, she set to work on carrying him back into her room and giving him her warm, treasured, beloved, very beloved, wonderful bed before setting to work on disinfecting his open and obvious wounds. She would give him a shot for any remaining toxins that were expected to be in his body and hope it worked as well as her chakra. Since he looked healthier than the other one, he would most likely be able to fight off infection with his own immune system.

"Or I could just let him die. For all I know he could have snuck in here while I was sleeping and passed out right before he could murder me in my sleep." Sakura paused after speaking out loud and frowned at how plausible that sounded.

'_Fuck__! _W_hat else is going to go to hell on me now?'_

Before she had an opportunity to think about it anymore, a noise from the living room drew her back. The other one! Was he waking up? She looked down at the mostly healthy one who slept in her bed and bit her lip. He wouldn't wake up anytime soon she hoped. If he did, well then she was really screwed.

Leaving him there she turned and headed back into the living room where her first patient was trying to either sit up in bed or roll over, it was hard to exactly tell from the position he was in when she walked in. Hearing her he stopped and looked up, his eyes no longer lined with a handful of rings, but gleaming a natural and healthy green like she thought they would be. His face was still quite pale and his body looked like it could use some meat, but overall he was a helluva lot better-looking than when she first picked him up.

His hand, the one that wasn't keeping his upper body above the pillows, moved to his side to grab a weapon but returned empty when he found he had been disarmed. There was a flash of fear before he moved, throwing the blanket towards her and running out. She was blinded for only a moment, but she was faster than light when she wanted to be, and right now, running after a wounded criminal—partly responsible for her misery—she wanted speed. He didn't get any more than five steps before she was on his back, grabbing his arms and forcing him down onto the ground. Weak as he was, he went down easy. He still needed either a lot of rest or a blood transfusion, though it appeared he wouldn't be needing that leg cast after all.

"Get off of me!" he growled, his voice breaking off into a violent cough from the strain. She saw his eyes tint red and leak hot tears, not because he was emotional, but more likely because because he was still a sick idiot who certainly wasn't the same person that had wiped out her village and reduced her to being nuke scum.

Her breath was harsh and threatening in his ear. "Not on your life, you shithead. If I wanted to kill you I wouldn't have dragged your half dead ass back to my home and healed you for three hours straight. If you want to die I'll be more than happy to end your life should you try anything funny in my house."

He stilled, ceasing his struggle beneath her. "W-what?"

Oh great, so he was playing stupid with her now. "No duh, your wounds just magically cleared up by themselves and you just magically removed the infections in your damned carcass like it was no fucking big deal. What the hell do you think happened?"

"But you're from Leaf. I remember you."

Sakura felt her insides grow cold and her eyes narrowed on their own while her knuckles turned white on his wrists. "Ah, so you do remember slaughtering my family of friends and damning me to this life out here in the middle of damn well nowhere?"

He still struggled underneath her, even more so than before.

"That wasn't me, that was him!" He sounded angry when he said it, almost as if she were in the wrong for believing something so foolish. "I never wanted to do anything like that. I never wanted to be a part….Ughhh..."

Sakura felt him ready to retch and got off in time to allow him to vomit all over her tiled floor. It was a disgusting sight, but it shocked her back to remembering where she was and who she was just talking to. She didn't want to believe him, she wanted to have someone to bang out her frustrations on, but at the same time the logical side of her reigned her in and told her to think about what she was doing and remember what she knew about Pein._ Remember how he captured human bodies and controlled them from his stupid rigged up control panel like a master of puppets better than even Sasori_. If what this guy was saying was true, she should have no need to hate him or seek to harm him.

But weren't his bodies supposed to be dead before he controlled them?

"Are you Pein?"

He was still breathing heavily and teetering on his hands and knees, looking ready to drop, but she saw his shake his head, even if it was only a small gesture. Killing her pride, she helped him away from the vomit and set him on her couch where she began a check up, surprising him. She worked in silence for a long while, not wanting to be the one that first said anything. She was still somehow mad at him for not being the perfect little evil punching bag she could somehow toss her frustrations to.

"I didn't know you were a medic." Her eyes flickered to his face and saw that he was watching her intently now. He wasn't mad at her or afraid of her, so she guessed he had been a rather intelligent shinobi before being knocked off by Pein or one of the wannabe god's lackeys. When she didn't reply he spoke up again. "You recognized me, didn't you? Why would you still save me knowing who I was and what I had done?"

Her jaw hurt from clenching it so long. "I'm a medic. I took an oath."

"Still, you're human, and humans break oaths."

"Are you complaining?" she snapped lowly, turning her eyes only to glare at him.

"I'm a strategist, so I'm trying to figure you out." She didn't like how level his voice now sounded, like he was reading her and understanding her at the same time. Neji had used that same tone of voice in front of her before and it had always annoyed her.

He didn't say anything for a while, but she could feel him staring at her while she ran her chakra through his system and picked off the remaining residue of bacteria that shouldn't be in his body. Not many people liked doing anything when someone was pouring their own chakra into their body. It was almost a reverent moment that demanded all the respect of a funeral precession and at some times it was a mentally intimate moment.

She pulled away and looked him over, watching as he inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying out his previously wounded lungs. He didn't seem to be in any pain like when Sakura had found him out in the forest, fighting to keep his body working and himself alive. He turned to look up at her with calmer eyes and nodded in her direction, the gesture polite in her mind. "Thank you," he said, meaning it wholeheartedly. "Whatever your reason, it doesn't change my thanks."

"You're welcome."

Then it was awkward, her not knowing what to do and him not knowing what to say. Seeing as how he wasn't who she thought him to be, it was wrong of her to be pissy towards him, but at the same time it was hard to be civil.

"What's your name?" he asked.

She paused only a bit before answering. "Sakura, what's yours?"

"…It's been so long since anyone has called me by name. I've forgotten it."

"Oh...."

Stiffly she turned and made her way over to a closet where she grabbed some cleaning supplies and began to clean up his vomit. It was relatively easy since it was tile floor, just missing the carpets. When she came back after disposing of the garbage he was still there on the couch, following her very obviously with his whole body. She felt even more awkward under his eyes and turned around to wash her hands in the kitchen sink.

"So...where are you going to go once you're healthy enough? You have any family?"

"I...have been away for so long that I do not believe there is anyone left to remember me in Waterfall. I doubt they would even take me back since I have been labeled a deserter. I don't even know what year it is anymore."

When was the last time Sakura had looked at a calendar to see what day it was? Time seemed to have no place around her in the mountains. "I'll find out for you if you like. I think it should be the year of the Tiger. In a few months it will be four whole years since the Pein invasion." She turned around slowly, her hands in a dish towel being scrubbed dry. "What happened to you then?"

"You mean when Pein took my body?" Sakura nodded and urged him to continue with the gesture. "Frankly, I was convinced he had killed me that day, even though I remember falling and being operated on. It was like my spirit was still trapped in my body, watching as another host moved in and took over. I remember everything, but it makes no sense. I should be dead. Didn't your friend tear my body apart?"

"I thought he did, but you were nowhere near as banged up as to suggest he had done anything to you other than remove your chakra pikes. When I found you there were..."

Sakura stopped, turning her head to the doorway where another figure stood. It was the other Pein body and he still had two operating chakra pikes stuck in his ears even though his eyes were no longer ringed but a vivid purple.

The other body, the one on the couch stilled as well, having sensed the visitor at the same moment. He looked tensed like a drawn bowstring, but Sakura knew better than to think he was in any condition to be fighting. If anything, he would end up as a hostage for the one who still had orange hair.

No one said anything, no one moved and no one dared take the first step.

He leaned against the wall and his arms shook a bit. One reached up and wavered in front of his face. "Ouooo...out..."

"What?" She took a step towards him, guessing what was going to happen. The air was crackling with something that stirred up her chakra coils into a frenzy.

"Out..."

Both hands were in front of his face, reaching for his ears and digging nails into the flesh around the pikes.

"OUT! Get them out of me!"

He ripped and clawed, scarping and pulling away till one broke free. The room flashed and everything around Sakura shook from the onslaught of raw chakra that discharged.

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_**Please Review.**_

-Vesper chan


	3. III

_Standard disclaimer applied_

Written by Vesper chan  
Beta edited by _StormDragon666_  
(AN: A big round of applause has to go to Storm for her amazing help in beta-ing this for me. I'm thrilled to be working with such a skilled author on this piece. Go read her stories, you'll be amazed!)

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Chapter Three

_All our times have come  
Here but now they're gone  
Seasons don't fear the reaper  
Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain...we can be like they are  
Come on baby...don't fear the reaper  
Baby take my hand...don't fear the reaper  
We'll be able to fly...don't fear the reaper. Baby I'm your man...  
_-Blue Oyster Cult

.

Sakura dove forward and landed on her arms, avoiding the shattering of glass as dozens of objects in her kitchen exploded under the strain of raw chakra in the air. Sakura herself had felt as though she had been hit with something once the first wave had reached her, and it sickened her to her stomach. Something was wrong about his chakra. Besides the fact that it was flowing out in destructive waves, something was terribly off about the mixture of it, almost like it had been tainted.

Looking up, she saw the other Pein body—the courteous one—hiding behind the back of the couch, his one hand draped across his chest as if to keep it in place. He didn't look so good, and Sakura didn't doubt it was a strain on his newly patched-up body. If his body wasn't in pain, then his coils certainly were. They had been viciously damaged during whatever process it was that he had gone through to remove the metal spikes from his body.

Looking up at the man who was causing all of the havoc, she knew that something needed to be done, and fast—before they were all blown to bits. There was a pair of her old fighting gloves in her back pocket, along with a few kunai she had strapped on just in case the morning checkup went sour. She tugged on the gloves and made sure her weapons were within reach.

Keeping low, she crawled across the tile towards him and ducked under the visible tails of lightning-like chakra that jumped and screeched around his head. At his legs now, she grabbed hold of his body and pulled him down towards herself. The chakra came with him and she felt the intensity and pain triple as it lashed out around her. She almost screamed, but resisted, forcing her hands to cup his face and touch the long black metal. One of of them was reacting and throwing out the chakra, the one he had tried to claw out. Forcing her own chakra into her hands and out through her fingertips, she grabbed the black metal more firmly and yanked.

He screamed. The room spun as both fell backwards away from one another. It took a while before Sakura was able to see properly again, but at least her head had stopped pounding. When she looked up, the metal rod was still in her hand, but it had burnt through her glove and settled harsh burns into her palm. She flicked her wrist and dropped the accursed thing onto the tile, bringing her wounded hand to her chest to heal.

Someone came up behind her and touched her shoulder. Looking up she saw it was the other Pein, the one who _hadn't_ tried to pull a bomb out of his ear and blow them all to hell. He looked down at her and then at the other body before returning his gaze to her.

"You alright?"

She didn't answer, but stood up with one good hand cradled against her front and stumbled towards the panting terrorist. His eyes swiveled towards her, his head to heavy to move. One ear was bleeding into his hair and caking on half of his face and neck. He looked like he had just gone through a hurricane. Wearily she approached him, moving her uninjured hand towards his other ear where the last pike remained. It buzzed a bit under her fingertips when she touched it, and the reaction made her yank away as if burnt.

She would try some other day.

"What happened?" Pein number 1 asked, still behind her. She turned her head a bit to see him but didn't answer. What could she say to him? She didn't have the slightest clue as to what was going on. Hell, she didn't even know what they were doing in her house much less how the one almost blew up in her hallway.

"Can you speak?" she asked the one on the floor, whom she mentally dubbed 'Pein number 2.'

He waved his head a bit from side to side, apparently too heavy to fully shake. She guessed that meant no. Fair enough. She was surprised he was even still conscious. She grabbed his arm and tried to pull him up and off the floor, but he was so much bigger than her it was near impossible without using her chakra—and she didn't want to do that if he still had another pike in his ear. And it wasn't any easier doing it with only one good hand.

Turning to Pein number 1 she nodded towards the limp body. "You think you could help me get him to the couch?"

He grabbed the limp body and pulled it up towards himself, taking the strain off of Sakura more than she wanted. Before she could protest he had Pein number 2 settled into the couch where he himself had previously been situated. Sakura scolded him for staining himself after only just waking up, but he only slumped down to the ground in protests, too tired to argue.

Keeping close, she poured more healing energy into her injured hand, groaning as the skin began to regenerate, and the burn diminished from a third degree to a second. Cuts were easy to heal and broken bones just needed a day or two of prodding if healthy enough, but burns, if they were deep as this, were a difficulty she didn't like to mess with. She would have to wait and let her body naturally restore her hand to its original form since chakra would only do so much.

Both Peins were still awake, but only just, so she dubbed it safe to leave them be for a moment and take inventory of her house. Her kitchen was a mess of broken cups and overturned plates and such. She took one look at it and decided that once the two men were strong enough they would be the ones cleaning up for her—and if they had money on them, they would have been paying her for the damages. Her living room was easy enough to straighten up since nothing broke, not even the lamps, so she busied herself with that, thankful that it kept her close to the strangers in her house.

She was sorting though a pile of books that had scattered all over her floor when the body on her couch moved: Pein number 2, the troublemaker. She was by his side in an instant, pressing him back down with her good hand. He seemed to see her for the first time and glared at her. He looked like he wanted to hit her in the head with a sledge hammer and then piss over the remains. "Who the hell are you?" he spat.

Without thinking she slapped him across the face, too tired and pissed off to put up with a child. "I'm the fucker that saved your damn ass, bitch. And if you know anything about survival, you won't behave that way in front of me again."

She was glad now that she hadn't healed him completely.

He grabbed his cheek with one hand and snarled at her, his glare even more narrowed. "Who the hell asked you to do something like that? I don't remember ever coming to you for help."

She grabbed the bleeding hole in his ear and he yelped in pain, not expecting the sorest part of his body to be handled so roughly. She _should_ have been a good medic and gotten ice for the swelling and served him by healing as much as she could, but she wasn't even going to think about any of that when he had this sort of attitude with her. She put more pressure on the wound and he closed his eyes, half growling, half whimpering.

"Remember now? You come stumbling out of my room begging for this pretty little thing to be taken out? Well I fucking took it out and how do you repay me? I shouldn't even be doing anything for you, you're one of the Pein bodies, for god's sake."

What she said sparked something in him and his hostilities died down. "Pein? What the hell are you talking about, woman? You're pretty screwed up to be confusing me with someone else."

_'So he doesn't know—unlike the first body.'_

Sakura let go of his ear and steeped back wiping the blood off her fingertips by brushing them along her pants. "What do you remember?"

"Like I'm going to fucking tell you, she-male."

Her booted foot was instantly between his legs, pressing down on a rather sensitive organ he would need to reproduce. "I think you are forgetting who is the injured party here and who is the medic. I can make your life easy, or I can make it hell, your choice." She applied more pressure for extra emphasis.

She heard his throat rumble with an unvoiced growl, but he relented, knowing he was in no position to stand on his own. "I don't remember anything after the fight, except for a lot of sleeping. I woke up in a bed this morning and there was another almost-dead guy that was giving off a sort of weird chakra vibe that made me go hazy. There was pain in my head…and that's all I remember."

Sakura blinked, not really understanding what he just said. "Wait? Whose room did you wake up in?"

"I don't fucking know. Green wallpaper, with a lot of books and junk." That sure as hell sounded like her room.

"And you said there was a man in there with you when you woke up?" 'No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, oh hell no! Please Kami-sama, don't let it be true, I'm too intelligent to be punished this way!'

His eyes were still on her boot when he answered. "N-o, not really..."

_Thank you._

"There were two guys in there, or maybe there were three, I didn't get a good look. One of them was really pale and his eyes were giving off—hey, where are you going?"

Sakura didn't bother to shout anything back over her shoulder at him as she sped towards her room, her heart hammering violently in her chest. She stopped in the doorway and choked, her hands reaching out to grab the doorframe. Her knees had buckled under her for a moment and she needed the support.

Sakura liked to think of herself as a shinobi, not a kunoichi who was trained in more feminine ways of supporting her country—ways she knew she could never bring herself to feel comfortable with. As a shinobi she didn't shy away from adversity; she stood up and fought even when the odds were unimaginably low, and she did it all with determination and bravery. But even with all that mental and physical training to eradicate fear, she was still scared shitless at what she saw waiting for her in her room. There were more than two of them, a lot more, and she knew the names to most of them.

Itachi Uchiha was the most distinct and forward in her mind as she gazed out at the group of _supposedly_ dead Akatsuki members.

She could have sworn he had been killed by Sasuke during their last confrontation. The youngest Uchiha was mad about the whole event and wouldn't shut up about it—claiming anyone that lived in peace was responsible for his brother's death.

And that Deidara guy, the one that looked like Ino with his long blond hair styled much in the same manner—also killed by the raving mad Sasuke Uchiha—was definitely supposed to be dead. His whole body had been turned into a bomb that blew sky high, so there shouldn't have been even a body to recover!

And then there were ones she knew for certain that had died, such as Kakuzu and Hidan. Fuck, she had been there when her and the Nara clan dug up the creeps remains to inspect them. She was the one that told everyone his immorality wore off once he ran out of sacrifices before stowing the remains away in Leaf!

Kisame and Zetsu too, both had been supposedly killed by the same person in Mist.

No one in her room should have been breathing, and yet they all were very much alive, sleeping it off in her room.

Silently Cursing with every phrase and word under the sun, Sakura pulled her door shut, quickly and quietly as possible before decking it out with chakra-eating seals. That wouldn't hold them for long—even if she did put seven of them up, but hopefully it would buy her enough time to get to her medicine stash downstairs and ready herself for a fight. Her chakra wasn't on full, but she had some solider pills she'd designed for herself that might be of use.

She could only take two steps before she broke down and cried without sobbing in self-pity. It wasn't fair! There was no way in a _million fucking years_ she could take on two of them by herself, let alone two... four... six of them!

"Sakura, is everything okay?" Pein number 1 asked, calling out to her from where he was sitting on the floor. He still looked tired but looked towards her with concern all the same.

Her eyes were puffy by now and when she looked up at him she knew he could see that. "No," she moaned, her arms still crossed over her knees. "We're all going to die."

"Damn women are so freaking emotional it's not even funny," Pein number 2 said, straightening out his pants as he sat up. She didn't miss how his hands subconsciously kept close to his family jewels, weary of another physical threat from her.

She looked towards him in anger, remembering what he had told her about those men."What the fuck did you do? There weren't no damn murders in my room when I left it aside from you, so why did they freaking multiply!" Her voice was panicked and almost shrill in tone when she addressed him. She was allowed to panic when there were so many serial killers in her bedroom, about to wake from their naps.

"How is that my damn fault? I thought they were with you!" he snapped.

"How can you not remember any of those freaks? I've never met most of them and they still scare the shit out of me!"

"And I'm supposed to know this _how_?" He stood up and raised his chin, looking down at her.

She stood as well and stomped towards him, her eyes coming up to his jaw. "You were in the same fucking organization as them for how many odd years, killing alongside each and every one of them. You're one of them!"

"Bullshit."

She wanted to hit him again, but he seemed much stronger now and she doubted he would let her. Fine, if he didn't want to believe her and the truth, he was the stupid one. He could up and die for all she cared. She was going to save herself and live!

She grabbed Pein number 1 by the arm and dragged him to his feet than slipped under his shoulder, grabbing him around the waist. He looked down at her, surprised, taken aback by her strange actions. He had been listening to her conversation with the other Pein body and what she was doing now didn't make any sense to him. All the same he followed as best he could. "Sakura what are you doing?" he asked her.

"I'm taking you to my lab downstairs where I have a stronger defense. Once those guys in there wake up they're not going to be in the mood to play tea party with me."

He was walking with her, hardly even leaning on her. "When you talk of 'them' do you mean the Akatsuki?"

"The one and only."

Even if he didn't want to, she could feel his body react to the confirmation. He had a history with those men, so of course he would not want to meet up with them again if he could help it. She briefly wondered about the conditions of his detachment form the origination, but kept quiet, knowing well enough that now was not the time to talk of such things. Whatever the reasons or conditions were, Pein number 1 did not want to go back and Sakura wasn't blaming him.

They were close to the metal door that lead downwards and Sakura readied herself to dispel the seals and barriers she had put up to protect it, but froze. The tags and wards were peeling free, and a few of them already limp and lifeless on the ground. Someone had already deactivated her defenses and she hadn't even noticed. _When did this fucking happen_?

The Pein leaning on her reached out and grabbed one of the wards, peeling it off with ease. "Sakura, was this meant to be like this?"

Without answering she slipped out from under him and leaned him against the wall with a quiet, 'stay here' gesture before returning to her door. The most important part of her house had been vandalized, so of course that would freak her out, but what screwed with her nerves even more was the aspect of just who could get pass all her traps without her noticing so easily. No one other than Akatsuki and yet they had all been asleep in her room, right?

Scared shitless, she grabbed the heavy metal doorknob with one hand, and a kunai with the other. Her teeth pressed down on her bottom lip she pulled back and swung the door open. Something rushed at her and she didn't even need to think before launching her weapon towards it. She missed and fired another one, but that one seemed to go right through the enemy as well. She jumped back and reached for another kunai, but was too slow. A force weighed down on top of her and she felt the enemy settle over her as her back and her head hit the ground. Her lungs stalled for a moment and she choked at the new weight.

_'Too fast!'_

And if that wasn't bad enough there were hands on her wrists, pinning her down and the feeling of chakra sucking making itself known for a moment before tapering off. He had started to take her chakra and then stopped—why?

Her thoughts trailed off when she looked up and saw his face, recognizing it in a instant. She'd never forgotten the meeting that had taken place years ago. The meeting that hardly lasted three minutes, and yet weighed down on her as if it had eaten up years of her existence.

"Aww, Sakura-chan is so mean to Tobi, who was waiting to surprise her so nicely too!"

Her blood ran cold.

Dead cold

* * *

Help me write faster... Please Review.

-Vesper chan


	4. IV

_Standard disclaimer applied_

Written by Vesper chan

_

* * *

_

Chapter Four

It's all a game, avoiding failure, when true colors will bleed  
All in the name of misbehavior and the things we don't need  
I lust for after no disaster can touch, touch us anymore  
And more than ever, I hope to never fall,  
Where enough is not the same it was before  
-Poets of the Fall

.

Naruto yawned, scratching the back of his head with one hand as tears collected in his eyes. It was too early in the morning for someone like him to be getting up, but he was working, so his own personal preferences would have to be sacrificed for the greater good of this mission.

It was a pretty simple one; a clean assassination, no witnesses, no worries, no remorse.

What had been so difficult about the mission was the identity of his target. Apparently another drug ring was popping up in the land of tea and it's leader was an unidentified mastermind, being too smart to let something like his or her appearance be know. Everything down to the gender of the target was pretty much a mystery, making it all the more difficult and demanding. There were few shinobi in Leaf who could work out such a mission while flying solo, but the clients couldn't wait for a stronger team. This mob boss had to be taken care of as soon as possible. The speed his or her business had taken off on was unheard of, and so of course the competition had pooled their resources together to nip it in the bud before it got any worse that it already was.

It had taken a few weeks and much effort, but in the end, the criminal mastermind had reached the end of his life, drenched in blood and money. He was really only a kid, no more than eighteen with a powerful bloodline never before seen in the shinobi world. Naruto didn't think that such a young drug lord would have underling so loyal that they would peruse their boss' killer, but Naruto did not want to tempt fate any more than he already had. He would pack up and leave before the hour was up and do what he really came here to do.

Search for deserters.

It took three minuets to get dressed and less than two minuets to pack. With a flicker of steeps he was downstairs leaving his key and the desired amount of money on the front desk where the inn keeper's wife was sure to pick it up. Before anyone could see him leave, he was gone, out the door and flickering down the main street. He needed to make it to the next town in under two hours if he wanted to connivence his superiors back in Leaf that he hadn't slacked off and done anything he shouldn't have on his way home. Naruto was sure they would know the day Yaten, the drug lord was found dead and be suspicious of his delayed return. The excuses that he was being followed would only hold up for so long before they started investigating his actions.

'_Old Leaf would never do something like that so readily.'_

But even as he thought this, Naruto knew all too well that he wasn't in old Leaf anymore, he should know better than the expect anything better form Danzo-that sniveling snake of a man. That man was far too hasty to weed out the disloyal and perfect the Konan task force with the most elite soldiers the world had ever seen, or at least that was what he was leading them all on to think. For all Naruto know, Danzo was just tormenting them all because he was an old bitter man who had nothing better to do with his diminishing life. The old geezer should have up and died by now but he was too stubborn for something like that.

Naruto could smell the strong golden sweets that were brewed daily before he could see the town. The land of Honey bordered the land of tea and was a fairly small on the map, being nearly invisible without a magnifying glass. Tea was close to a strong leg of the fire country and was probably not one of the places Sakura had run off to, but it was one of the places Naruto had not yet searched for himself, (he didn't trust anyone else's efforts but his own), so he was determined to check it out. And besides, Sakura wasn't the only one he had to keep an eye out for. There were otheres, of course, but Sakura was the most important to him.

Dust rose up all around him as he skidded to a stop a few yards outside the country's borderline. He didn't want to startle anyone with his whirlwind entrance and scare the information he needed out of them. He had made that mistake once and he had suffered the extra hour and effort for it.

A few families looked up from their places when he came in, not used to so bright looking visitors on their own, but quickly turned back to their work. There was a group of kids sitting on the porch of one house tying labels and ribbons around the heads of jars filled to the brim with gooey, golden honey that could only come from the experts of such a craft. The young mother looked up at him and blushed, nodding once. Naruto smiled back before making he way further in, thankful for his more matured face since it proved to be such a help with the ladies in any country. Sometimes they would go pouty when they found out he was looking for another girl so he would just tell them it was his younger sister and everything would be made right.

The best place to look for information-aside from the maids of the Daimyou's household- would be the local pub where too many came in to drown their sorrows and empty their heads. And on top of that Naruto was thirst and could do with a beverage or two. The Yellow Jacket was a nicer looking pub compared to the majority of others he had seen and was not too busy with customers seeing as how it was the middle of the day.

"What can I do you for?" The bartender asked as Naruto pulled up a stool.

"Depends, what are you known around here for?"

He laughed, putting down the rag that had been in his hands. "That would be the wasp ass, but I don't think you want that unless you need to pass out real quick. It's the strongest thing out there."

"Nah, I need to be on the road again in a few hours so how about a light ale then. I hear you serve them with honey."

"That we do lad, and they be the best in the five great countries. Have yourself a taste and be converted. You probably need it if you came from Tea. All their ale sticks of refined stick up the rear end if you don't mind me saying so." A tall mug was placed down in front of Naruto and the blond could see through the murky glass a chunk of honeycomb. It smelled good.

"That's the stuff. Real good," Naruto breath, licking off the corners of his mouth. "You were right about it being better than in Tea."

"Of course I was," the bartender laughed, going a bit red in the face with pride. It was always a good idea to get people in a good mood with you before you asked them questions, or at least get on their better side if you could help it. Some people didn't have a good side.

"Hey, you don't mind me asking but there is a girl I'm looking for." Naruto faked a blush and looking down. "She kind of left me after the first night and I was wondering if she had been see around here." He passed over the photo and the bartender whistled approvingly, since it was a full body shot.

"I feel for you lad. If I had lost a hot one like that I'd be looking for her too. I can't say I've seen here around here, if I had I would remember, but you might want to check with Yuu. She's the mother you probably saw when you first came in. She has a few kids and seems to know everything that happens in this place and the rest of the world. And it don't hurt none that she's a head maid for the Daimyou."

"Thaks sir." Naruto finished his drink and quickened out, a wave over his shoulder so as to not appear rude.

The woman named Yuu was one of the more beautifle woman Naruto had seen for a mother. She was older looking, with faded topaz eyes and only a hint of creases around the eyes, but she still seemed so young, especially when she smiled. She stood when she saw Naruto coming and smoothed out her skirts and brushed back her long teal hair. Her kids looked up and scooted away from the stranger behind their mother's skirts, all except one who seemed to be the oldest at nine, maybe eight years of age.

"What can I help you with young man?" she asked, her voice sweet like the nectar she harvested. Yup, she was probably the information hub of this place. Naruto didn't have a hard time imagining how she got her information out of people.

"I'm looking for someone and was wondering if you could help me out. She's been missing for a while now." He handed her the picture and she frowned, studying it a while shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't seen anyone like this," she said before bending down towards her oldest. "What do you think of this Sora? Have you seen this woman around here?"

The boy stared for a while, then shook his head, turning back to Naruto. "I've not seen her...but a month ago, maybe more there were men here asking for a girl with that same picture."

* * *

Sakura pulled the blanket closer to her chest, feeling vulnerable under the glares/stares/absent looks of some of the ninja world's most dangerous operatives. Tobi _kun_, as she had been told to call him, was still close to her, practically rubbing shoulders with her on the couch while the white haired Pein sat on her other side. He seemed unyielding as far as separating from her was concerned. He was giving all the other males nasty looks.

"So...you don't know anything after the battle with Sasuke?" she asked, her voice a bit sharper and shakier than she remembered it being as she addressed Itachi Uchiha.

"No." He sat across from her with his arms folded over his chest, his knees spread and his face as blank as she expected it to be. Even without his sharingan activated he was still intimidating.

"You don't remember dying, do you? Or anything after closing your eyes? No white light, no flashing memories?"

He didn't answer her, only continued to stare till she knew enough to know that her question was stupid and shouldn't have to be answered by him.

There was a loud crash and some cursing from the kitchen and soon Kisame was standing where they could see him from the living room, looking right at home in the stranger's residence. "Who ever is on food duty needs to stock up on the mayonnaise, we're all out."

"Fuck your retarded mayo, it's this shit we need more of!" Hidan slurred, shoving some old bread that had been going moldy at the blue man.

"That was an experiment, it wasn't for eating," Sakura whispered to herself, watching as they sacked her fridge.

No one bothered to pay her any mind.

The only other one who was in sight was the second Pein body who sat on the arm of the couch, his body slack and loose as he watched the happenings of the kitchen from over his shoulder. Sakura didn't know where the others were, since once Deidara had woken up he had raced to the bathroom and locked himself in there and for all she knew Zetsu was still asleep with that Kakuzu guy who was awake but too tire or too sore to move.

"Oi pinky!" Sakura looked up when she heard the Mizu swordsman call her name, never minding that she hated that particular nickname. "You the one that keeps the fridge stocked?"

"Y-Yeah."

"You're going to need more food in there if you plan on feeding us all, Hidan and I nearly cleaned it all out."

Something that sounded like 'damn right' echoed from behind the blue man. She didn't doubt them.

"Aren't you at all concerned with where you are or who you are with? Your last memory should be of dying, you freak," Pein number 2 sneered, still as sour as she remembered him being after their first encounter. Maybe that was just how he was.

"Happens all the time, bitch, whoever you are now," Hidan said, never turning around. "Get used to it."

"You're all unbelievable... unbelievably fucked up!"

"As much as I hate to agree, he's right. We shouldn't be concerned with food right now, but with figuring out what happened to you all, that's more important!"The nice, white haired Pein said, earning a grateful stare from her

"Nothing is fucking more important that food right now, shit face."

"For all we know, the force that keeps you alive could fizzle out at any moment and leave you bone cold again. Do you really want that to happen?"

The immortal sadist pulled away from the fridge and leaned over the counter, staring at the ex Pein body with a 'do I look like I give a damn?' sort of stare before opening his mouth. "What's your fucking name, bitch."

Sakura turned towards the white haired man, remembering how he had told her he had forgotten his name from long ago and worried about what he was going to say, but her worry was misplaced. That man knew how to handle himself. "You may address me as Fuyuki, Hidan _san_"

"Kay, then Fuyuki _san_, shut the hell up and leave the shit of us alone. You," he pointed towards the white haired male and Fuyuki in turn glared. "don't have no damn fucking business here since you're no longer a body or a whore ride or whatever it was you were to that wannabe Kami leader of ours who went and got himself killed. So ass out."

"Hidan." The whole room stopped and turned towards the new voice, no one daring to breath too loud and shatter the silence that seemed to hug them all like a physical cloud. Itachi had just spoken, and when he did he did it in a way that wouldn't tolerate back sassing. Slowly, painfully slowly, Itachi turned his head towards the kitchen and locked eyes with Hidan. The pagan worshiper glared, raising his head but said no more in protest.

Outside Sakura could hear the first winds of winter come and crash against the side of her house. It was probably really cold outside at this hour where the sun was just about to die behind the cracked outline of mountains all around them.

"Kisame, come out here and pay attention. Fuyuki san has a point I would like to explore." At Itachi's words, Kisame came out from the kitchen and joined them around the couch, preferring to stand instead of sit next to the lone Uchiha who looked more stern than usual-not that anyone would know what he usually looked like.

Fuyuki nodded towards the Uchiha than turned his attention towards Kisame. "I've asked Sakura about this, and according to her it was either you or Zetsu that died last. Do you know, between the two of you who died first?"

Kisame inhaled deeply and puffed out his chest before crossing his arms over it, making him look bigger than he had at first. Sakura suspected it was probably a humiliating thing to admit if he really had died first and understood why he was acting like he was. But still, he was intimidating enough as it was, she didn't need him trying any harder to freak her out.

"Zetsu was still alive when I died, we he been together and until just recently I had though he had survived. He's asleep in the back room though, so we can't really bug him about nuthing."

"Do you remember anything particularly surprising before your death or while you were dying?"Fuyuki asked, speaking up.

Kisame sneered. "No, I was kind of busy kicking the bucket. What the hell kind of question is that?"

"I'm just trying to get to the bottom of this," Fuyuki explained.

"You're doing a shitty job of it," the other Pein body commented, drawing the attention of the group his way. "If you really want to get to the bottom of it, ask the most suspicious one out of us about how we all ended up in her house. I find it kind of odd how little she really knows."

Sakura felt her throat tighten up as all the eyes in the universe seemed to settle on her. She didn't have to look up to see if Itachi was staring at her since the feeling was so powerful. She saw Hidan from the kitchen glaring at her though and doubted Kisame was looking anywhere else. Tobi was still a neutral presence, affected by nothing. She should have known that bringing a near dead Akatsuki member into her house was a mistake, not that Fuyuki was all that much trouble, (he was more of a help), but she knew the reason the rest of them showed up had to be connected to his arrival.

"You think I want any of you within a hundred miles of my home? The only one I willingly took in was Fuyuki because he was still alive when I found him, just like you were." She was looking at Pein in the ass-_haha_-number two. "When I woke up the next day you were in my house, barely breathing. Neither of you had died, doesn't that make you the more suspicious one?"

Now the group's attention was on the bratty Pein body and Sakura was smiling smugly on the inside. She was still nervous as heck, but she was proud with herself and what she had done. He stood up and held up his hands, palms forward in a gesture of surrender.

"Hey now, wait a minute. I have nothing to gain by coming in here and never wanted to. Your the scientist aren't you? For all we know you could have dragged our dead carcasses in her to preform weird experiments on. I bet you set up this whole-"

"Silence."

Everyone turned towards the hall where Zetsu stood, a bit slumped and leaning against the wall. He still looked plenty tired and Sakura didn't doubt it. "You're both wrong."

He pushed off the wall and approached the group, not minding how awkward it was for him to sit next to Itachi, since he did it without a second thought. Sakura noticed that he seemed paler than the others, on both sides of his face, and his flytrap frame was missing. Around his bare body he clutched the dark fabric of his Akatsuki cloak. The newest arrival reached inside his cloak and pulled out something bright and golden. "The reason we're all here is because of this."

And with that he unrolled the scroll entitled Izanagi-no-Mikoto.

Sakura's mind reeled with a memory deeply buried inside concerning her parents before their removal from the clan grounds. She was so young at that time she shouldn't have remembered anything, but the stories were there...in her mind, hissing at her now like a jaded spirit. She couldn't ignore them anymore. Like an out of body experience she was transported back to that time.

"Izanagi-no-Mikoto lamented the death of Izanami-no-Mikoto and undertook a journey to Yomi _the shadowy land of the dead,_" her mother began in a calm voice that seemed appropriate for storytelling. "Quickly, he searched for Izanami-no-Mikoto and found her. At first, Izanagi-no-Mikoto could not see her at all for the shadows hid her appearance well. Even so, he asked her to return with him. Izanami-no-Mikoto spat out at him, informing her husband that he was too late. She had already eaten the food of the underworld and was now one with the land of the dead. She could no longer return to the living. Izanagi-no-Mikoto was shocked at this news but he refused to give in to her wishes of being left to the dark embrace of Yomi.

"While Izanami-no-Mikoto was sleeping, he took the comb that bound his long hair and set it alight as a torch. Under the sudden burst of light, he saw the horrid form of the once beautiful and graceful Izanami-no-Mikoto. She was now a rotting form of flesh with maggots and foul creatures running over her ravaged body. Crying out loud, Izanagi-no-Mikoto could no longer control his fear and started to run, intending to return to the living and abandon his death-ridden wife. Izanami-no-Mikoto woke up shrieking and indignant and chased after him. Wild shikome the _foul women_ also hunted for the frightened Izanagi-no-Mikoto, instructed by their lady mistress, the commander of death to bring him back. Izanagi-no-Mikoto burst out of the entrance and quickly pushed a boulder in the mouth of the _Yomotsuhirasaka_, the cavern that was the entrance of Yomi."

Sakura remembered she had peeped out from under her covers, eyes wide. "What happened next mommy?"

The long dead woman looked tired from the story telling. "Izanami-no-Mikoto screamed from behind this impenetrable barricade and told Izanagi-no-Mikoto that if he left her she would destroy 1,000 residents of the living every day. He furiously replied he would give life to 1,500."

* * *

Pretty short, and I'm sorry for that. The next one will be longer, hopefully. Out of all of those in Leaf, Naruto is really the only one who will have any significance, with maybe a bit of Sai somewhere, so keep the blond idiot in mind. And while I'm here, let me ask you if you mind these Author Notes at the bottom of the page. Should I just shut up or do you not mind?

Please Review!


	5. V

_Standard disclaimer applied_

Written by Vesper chan  
Beta edited by _StormDragon666_  
(AN: A big round of applause has to go to Storm for her amazing help in beta-ing this for me. I'm thrilled to be working with such a skilled author on this piece. Go read her stories, you'll be amazed!)

Chapter Five

And if the sun comes up will it tear the skin right off our bones?  
And then as razor sharp white teeth rip out our necks I saw you there.  
Someone get me to the doctor, someone get me to a church,  
Where they can pump this venom gaping hole,  
And you must keep your soul like a secret in your throat  
And if they come and get me, what if you put the spike in my heart.  
-My Chemical Romance

* * *

The ornate design glistened a bright gold in his hands.

"Zetsu-san, what is this?" Kisame asked first.

"This is the insurance Pein's superior set up in case all of us should die on him. When we were accepted into the organization he had our chakra implanted into the member rings and transferred to this spell. After our deaths he would take this scroll and give it to someone who would act as a sacrifice in order to revive us."

Sakura stiffened and reached for her stomach, feeling her mouth go dry. By her side Fuyuki grabbed her shoulder and gave it a good squeeze. Tobi looked up from on her other side and watched him with what may have been interest, his pale and boyish features never moving.

"What do you mean 'sacrifice'?" Sakura asked in a shaky voice.

Zetsu blinked, looking over at her with glowing gold eyes that lacked any sort of pupil. "The cost to activate this is an incredible amount of chakra, more than any normal human would have. Chakra enough to reanimate all of our bodies. The seal would take all of that energy out and use it to reanimate us. The chakra donor, with no chakra left, would die. The only reason this seal did not kill you, Sakura, would be because of the Yin Seal you inherited from your master, Tsunade-hime."

Sakura's hand absently trailed up to her forehead and ran over the place where the jewel would normally be. She never had been able to feel a difference in her skin texture, but there was certainly a loss of chakra from behind the seal, about four to five years' worth of it was gone.

Fear was replaced for a moment with anger towards those surrounding her. How _dare _they use her as a sacrifice and steal her chakra! What gave them the right to come in and violate her in such a way? It had taken her a damn long time to store up that much and now it was all wasted on something she would have rather died than assist if given the choice.

Zetsu continued speaking before she could get up and voice her rage. "However, because of this, there were some complications to the Izanagi-no-Mikoto. If you haven't noticed already—you will soon enough—but none of us here are able to access our chakra."

If someone had charged the room's air with electricity Sakura imagined it would feel the way it did when the rest of the Akatsuki looked up at Zetsu. Sakura guessed that some of them, like Itachi, had noticed long ago and were ready to murder their colleague for spilling such a secret in front of her. Information of such importance could cost lives. It wasn't something you gave out to just anyone.

Sakura felt better on the inside, knowing that she was the only one present who could use her chakra. Even if they were powerful ninja, many of them would be close to the level of an average jonin without chakra and their signature jutsu. She didn't doubt that they were still all powerful foes, but she was powerful as well and now she had an advantage. Maybe, just maybe, she could take them if...

"What do you mean we don't have any of our—"

**"You should have noticed by now, especially someone like you, fish-face, since you've got so much of it**," Zetsu's darker side sniped.

Kisame frowned, inwardly searching for the familiar hum of warmth within himself and stiffening when he found not a trace of it. Even the other Pein body, the one with the nasty mouth, looked shocked when he found that he too was without chakra, despite not being one of those who Sakura revived.

"Will it come back if we kill the bitch?" Hidan asked, entering the conversation and startling her. His massive, three-pronged weapon was in hand and at the ready. He didn't look hesitant about shedding the blood of the woman he owed his life to. She glared up at him and felt her body tense, ready to spring if needed.

"**Stupid fag**, **you wouldn't want to do **_**that**_**,**" Zetsu's black side snarled again.

"And why fucking not?"

Zetsu just picked up the scroll and unrolled it all the way, exposing all the names and info of the members till it was stretched out as far as it would go. At the very end, written in a lighter shade of black Sakura spotted her own name written in elegant kanji right next to Tobi's. "Sakura has become a member in the Izanagi-no-Mikoto. That means if she were to die, all of those who are supported by her chakra would in turn perish as well."

Hidan didn't say anything . Zetsu gave a convincingly psychopathic grin, exposing all his jagged fangs. "**That means if you kill her you die, too, dipshit**."

"How the hell did that happen? This is—this is ridiculous!" Kisame snarled, his eyes scanning the scroll. The names for all the Pein bodies were absent aside from the Animal path. He wondered what that meant for the human path, or Fuyuki as he liked to be called, but didn't dwell on it as his thoughts were interrupted.

"So that means Sakura-chan is one of us now?" Tobi exclaimed, speaking up for the first time now.

"…Essentially."

"Yay! Tobi knew he liked Sakura-chan!" He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close to his chest, rubbing the side of his face against her head.

Sakura stood up and pushed the male off her arm, her free hand fisted tight to choke off some anger. "Stop that! I'm not one of you! Don't you dare treat me like that," she all but hissed with narrowed eyes. She turned towards Zetsu next, seeing as he knew the most. "What happens to me now? I'm not running a hotel service here and I'm not gonna pretend I have any reason in the world to help you. You guys _can't_ stay here."

"I understand how this can be inconvenient for you Sakura, but until we are retrieved by our leader there is nothing we do." Zetsu shrugged as though this were some trifling bad weather. "We will have to impose on your hospitality for a few months."

"The hell, _months_? How could it take him that long to get you? Not that I want any of you leaving in one piece. I took an oath to heal the sick, not murderers! I should be-"

"Sakura-san."

Sakura's glare was draw to Itachi's arctic stare.. She couldn't help but be reminded of two black blots of ink on white parchment when she looked at his face. His pale…beautiful face. He held her stare for quite some time, almost daring her to say something more, to oppose them any more than she already had. Well, she wouldn't be outdone by this Uchiha who didn't even have his Sharingan…who had no chakra…who killed his entire family…

Apparently Uchiha men were very intimidating even without their Sharingan.

Sakura grumbled to herself, dragging her favorite pillow and most comfortable bedding down into her lab where she would be setting up her new room. After being stared down and scared shitless, it had been decided for her where everyone would be sleeping and so forth. Since there were so many of them and only one of her, of course they used the democratic approach towards dividing the sleeping quarters.

She passed by the ward-covered door and flicked on the lights from the top of the stairs before descending. Each step made a muffled clumping sound that echoed in her chest from a dark mixture of fear, excitement, and anger.

They had discovered her secondary pantry and made quick work of a lot of its contents before she could protest and she knew it was only a matter of time before they ran out of food and demanded more. The were full grown men for Kami's sake, and ate like horses! She was having a mini nightmare just imagining how much their appetite would cost her.

"Yeah, like I'm made of money or something."

Sakura pulled out a cot form the wall and began to set it up for sleeping, making sure it was only a few inches off the floor instead of all the way up for operations. It was so much smaller than her own bed.

For a moment she felt like crying, but fought it, not wanting to be caught by any of them and taunted further. They would probably like that too, making their savior, the person who would unwillingly give them back five _years' _worth of chakra, cry like a child.

They were lucky she wasn't on her period or else she would PMS _all over_ their asses.

What god had she angered up there to end up with such _horrendous_ luck? Whatever she had done, some mysterious event equivalent to breaking a thousand mirrors on Friday the thirteenth, it was probably really bad for her life to be as screwed over as it was now. First was banishment and now this and she hadn't received a message from Kakashi in how many weeks? She knew communication was slow and he couldn't always get around to writing something to her for safety's sake, but it had simply been too long. She fingered the chain around her neck before her calloused fingers brushed over the smooth gold of a ring. She began to suspect the worst as her worry for him grew.

In the lab, alone, Sakura shed a few tears.

Someone at the top of the stairs knocked and called out to her, startling her out of her tears—of course just when she decided to let out the water works there has to be someone there asking for her! She grabbed a cloth and wet it in the large, stainless steel sink and cleaned her face, taking away a bit of the red from her eyes. Hopefully it would be enough. She took the steeps two at a time and undid some of the minor seals, opening the door to the outside. Fuyuki was there, so Sakura eased the door open a bit more. She didn't actually trust him just yet, but compared to the others, he was the most welcomed by far.

"What is it?"

"Some of the Akatsuki are asking for you. They said they…needed extra clothes or something like that."

Sakura nearly scoffed. Already, she was the hotel manager. "...Ah...and just what was it that made them think I would have anything that would fit them in my house? Do Kisame and Kakuzu think I just have stuff their size hanging around my house?"

He offered her a sympathetic smile and it seemed to help. "That's what I told them, but they wanted to know for sure if you had anything."

"I have oversized T-shirts, but those are mine and I'm not lending them anything. If they want something they can go into town tomorrow and buy something for themselves." Sakura paused, looking away for a moment before asking, "Do they even have any money on 'em?"

"The one named Kakuzu does, and apparently they have some contacts they can get in touch with for large orders. They just need someone to take them into town, he said."

"Why do I have to play freaking babysitter? They have my full permission to run away and never come back, if they want."

Fuyuki shrugged, looking tired. "I'll be a genin if I know. None of them like talking to me. But they told me to keep an eye on your or keep you safe, something like that just because your name was on their scroll."

She snorted and at the sound he cracked a brighter smile. "Screw that stupid scroll of theirs, I've got nothing to do with it. Hey, what about you, Fuyuki? You still don't have a shirt, since I cut the first one off. You look cold."

Fuyuki stared down at his body, his torn and ripped pants, bare feet, and an even barer chest that was partly covered by a blanket he had left draped over his shoulders. "This is fine. Your house is pleasantly warm for this time of year. I'm not bothered by the temperature."

Sakura made a clicking sound in her mouth before disappearing behind the door without a word. Fuyuki heard her making a mess downstairs, shoving things aside and cursing after every major crash, but in another moment he heard her coming back up the stairs and emerge from behind the door with an oversized green shirt. "Here, the others have enough to be modest but you at least need a shirt. If they make a ruckus about it tell them I only had this one, okay?"

"Eh, you didn't have to—"

"I'm busy setting up my bed and junk down here, so just take it and save me the pleasantries. I'll have to go into town sometime soon before the snow comes in so I can sell my summer herbs and other assets. I can escort the weenies then." She closed her eyes and hold her face for a moment while she breathed deep. "That should satisfy them for the time being."

Fuyuki looked down at the shirt he held in his hands and smiled, nodding towards her in a little bow to show respect. "Thank you Sakura, I am most grateful."

"Mmm." She nodded in return before turn back down the stairs, closing the door behind her.

The white haired male looked down at the shirt in his hands and brought it up to his face to inhale. It smelled like her. He felt bad about ruining it with his own scent, but his desire for warmth won out in the end and he slipped it over his head and smoothed it out, liking how it fit so nicely. It was probably meant for a man like himself so he wondered why Sakura would have it.

It wouldn't be uncommon for someone her age to have a boyfriend or even a husband, since girls married as young as sixteen and fourteen in some countries. Maybe she had once had a boyfriend in the past, but he doubted Sakura was in any such relationship now, distanced from the world as she was.

For some reason that made him feel...good. Not only to know that she was single, but to know that he was wearing something that had once belonged to a man that wasn't hers anymore. It gave him the feeling of victory. Yes, victory—despite his never meeting him, Fuyuki had won what that man had lost.

"So did Sakura chan have anything?"

Fuyuki turned around to see Tobi watching him from down the hall. He made hardly a sound on the wooden floor as he walked down the hall to where Fuyuki was standing. If he remembered correctly, this Tobi person was a one in two figure, the most dangerous one out of all of them. As if reading his thoughts Tobi looked up at the ex-Pein body and glared. Fuyuki felt his brain prick in pain and suddenly he couldn't remember anything for sure about this—this Tobi person—no, only that he was dangerous, and more powerful in this organization than he let on and…and—

"What did…you?"

"It looks like Sakura-chan did have some men's clothes. Is there any more?"

"What did you do...do...what are you doing here?"

Tobi didn't look up at Fuyuki, but grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and tugged at it. His expression refused to waver and soon the boy that was really a man turned on his heel and stepped away. "I guess she doesn't have anything else for us. I'll tell everyone for you and save you the trouble. You should find a place to sleep before you pass out. You look tired, _Human-san."_

Before the ex-Pein body could say anything more, Tobi walked away till he was out of sight.

Rounding a corner and entering under a new room, Tobi found himself in one of the small, spare rooms Sakura had set up to be some sort of extra closet. There were boxes still filled with books and coats stacked up in the corner from past winters. Zetsu was there, moving boxes around, preparing a place for himself to sleep that night since he had been chosen to share that space with Tobi. Most of the handling of sleeping arrangements had been decided at random. Noticing how they were alone, Tobi immediately turned before he could be noticed and stopped, not by choice, but by the two toned man's voice.

"Tobi, I had wished to speak with you. Have you received word from Madara-sama? You should have been in mental contact with him. Do you know when he will retrieve us?"

Tobi paused in the doorway, not liking how he had left his mask off in front of this particular comrade. "I already told you. All Madara told me before leaving was that he wouldn't be here for a long time and to look after Sakura-chan. It won't be long before we have unwelcome guests, and without chakra we will be at a disadvantage."

"Why couldn't Madara-sama take us now, what is the reason for keeping us—"

"**I'm sorry, do you know better than Madara? You don't need to know what he wants with us. Just do as he says.****"**

Tobi turned around to glance back at the black side of the male and frowned. "Listen to him and don't look into this any further. Also don't pry too much into Sakura's business. She is important to Madara for some reason or another. When he comes back you can ask him. Not me." Looking away from Zetsu, Tobi's lips broke in a sneer as contempt sparked in his eyes. "After all, I'm nothing but the little _messenger boy_."

Tobi walked away, a bitter taste in his mouth.

* * *

Hanabi twittered to herself in anxiety while looking through her assignments. She was only sixteen, but she was already a freshman member of the ROOT operations as a intelligence analysts. Her specialized field was medicine, but she was also very good at decoding.

There were not a great many nurses or doctors in leaf since Danzo came into power, (seeing as how most left or were _disciplined_ after the death of Tsunade), so there was rarely ever anything for her to look at for Danzo-sama, but today one of the older members was giving her access to some of the old files that were not yet properly analyzed.

Hanabi pushed back a long curl of orange and gulped. Of course being allowed access to such delicate material wasn't just normal business, so of course there were two masked officers at the door looking as intimidating as ever with their unmoving posture and veiled expressions. Neither moved and maybe they didn't even breathe.

Frankly they were creeping her out.

Returning to her work, she sorted through some of the papers in front of her and divided them into three separate stacks. One was easily translated and decoded into being nothing more than hospital records for one of the head nurses. This person, whoever he or she was, had kept a personal account of everyone who came and went; the material had nothing really controversial about it.

The second pile had details on certain operations and was composed largely of what looked to be tips and pointers for newcomers. Nothing very interesting there, and that was why the second pile, along with the first one, was pushed furthest away, saved for another boring day.

It was the third pile that was what Hanabi really wanted.

The third pile dealt with experiments and drug testing, the sort that went on publicly and also the sort that went on…privately. There were even some records of experiments and tests a few doctors performed on themselves or outside of the hospital. There was one particularly interesting study that, from the looks of it, was still in the works of being implemented. It would have surly put them all in jail if they tried it without permission. A new solider pill that manifested many of the same qualities head doctors Haruno and Tsunade used for their Yin Seal release. A pill that could essentially bring life back to a solider after injury if take in time. They were really close to developing it, too. For a moment the intelligence analyst in Hanabi was gone. Reading the research and decoding the data, she was just another fan of the phenomenal breakthrough doctors that had—

"Akai Hanabi?"

"Y-y-y-ye-yes?" she squeaked, standing up so fast the small wooden chair fell backwards. She flushed in shame, feeling her ears go red.

"Your progress?" Kiiroi Jin asked, his mask still adorned, only off to the side of his face. He was a high ranking officer as well as a public figure so he was not required to wear it at all times like many of the other members were. "Were you able to find criminalizing evidence against Chairoi Kimi?"

That was right. The whole point of her looking through these files was the find something Danzo could use to put Kimi san in prison or execute her at least. It was very rare anymore that he banish someone. His power had grown so much since his first days.

"O-oh-of course sir. Here are some of her dealing with a project to um...genetically alter her fetus. It's clear here she had Hyuga DNA mixed into her son's still dev-"

"Give that here," he said, cutting her off so he could read the report for himself. "Is this all?"

"Y-yes that's all sir. It's all right there in your hands ri-"

"Stop blubering. You are a member of ROOT, are you not?"

Hanabi hung her head, her ears now deep red with more shame. "Yes sir."

There was a silence as Jin read the files and saw that Hyuga DNA had indeed been used on a non Hyuga son. The shame would be enough to shut the white eyed freaks up for a good while. "This work will suffice. You are done here."

Hanabi looked up suddenly. "But sir, what about the other-?"

"I said you were done here, Akai. Pack up and leave. This is sensitive material here, you shouldn't even be allowed in here." He looked her in the eye and she felt her blood freeze.

Too scared to do anything more she bowed low and closed her eyes, childishly wishing him away. "Yes, of course sir."

"Dismissed."

* * *

The song used by My chemical Romance is Vampires Will Never Hurt You.

Storm pointed this out to me, but Hanabi Akai and Hanabi Hyuuga are two different people. Just so you know. Help me write faster... Please Review.

-Vesper chan.


	6. VI

_Standard disclaimer applied._

Written by Vesper chan  
Beta edited by _StormDragon666_  
(AN: A big round of applause has to go to Storm for her amazing help in beta-ing this for me. I'm thrilled to be working with such a skilled author on this piece. Go read her stories, you'll be amazed! She's updating Airborne, one of the best fanfiction stories of all time.)

Chapter Six

I scraped my knees when I was praying  
And found a demon in my safest haven, seems like  
It's getting harder to believe in anything  
Than just to get lost in all my selfish thoughts.

-Paramore

* * *

Deidara was still in shock from the whole ordeal. He had thought he had finally reached the highest degree of perfection in his art but had woken up to pale green walls and a perfectly healthy chest that seemed to be missing one very important gaping black hole.

Had he failed?

How did he survive, and so _perfectly_?

Had he been wrong?

Was this Heaven, or was it hell?

He looked at himself in the mirror of some obviously feminine room, staring with empty eyes at the stubble of a shadow that had begun to grow under his jaw. He reached up and rubbed a hand of it, displeased with the texture. He had always preferred to keep himself clean shaved.

Deidara pushed back his long blond hair and tied it with a blue band he found on top of the sink. He didn't care if it smelled like woman's shampoo, it would work. Satisfied with his hair work, he took the pink razor he had discovered behind the mirror and brought it to his dampened face. He hoped no one would mind he was taking her stuff. He chuckled at the thought. Well, she'd just have to deal.

Yesterday Zetsu had been the one to fill him in on everything and tell her about that girl they were all staying with. He had recognized the name. She was the one that had killed his old partner along with his grandmother, who couldn't have helped all too much.

It was an odd twist that he had ended up owing his life to the person who rebuked his own art and disproved Sasori's, too. He hadn't given it a lot of thought before, but now that he had the time to, he found himself wondering what kind of person she was. What were her views and opinions like? What did she think of art?

Apparently she wasn't happy with what had been thrust upon her, and he didn't blame her. If he had to put up and house all his colleagues he would be pretty pissed as well. Hell, he was pissed having to associate with them in meetings of the organization; he couldn't imagine living with the fucking creeps for extended periods of time.

Before his death he hadn't spent much time with any of the others unless they were his partner, and that applied to the rest of them as well. No one was used to being friendly with so many others, the most socializing they did was to collectively pour their chakra into the freaky mosters their leader called the tailed beasts for a few days. And it was going to be hell in a few days, he could already tell.

He wouldn't blame her if she hated them all, but that probably meant she hated him singularly as well.

He paused, mid stoke and stared at himself in the mirror for a few moments before continuing with his work.

Considering his comrades, the amount of hate directed at him specifically shouldn't be so massive. Deidara certainly didn't think of himself as a total psycho like Hidan, or a freak-eyed prick like Itachi, and he most certainly wasn't an annoying kid like Tobi. When you got down to it, when you compared, he was pretty enjoyable company...at least he thought so. She would have to make up her mind about that in a few days time after they had gotten to know each other. She would hate him less than the others easily.

Deidara paused to roll that idea around in his head a bit more. It wasn't as though he looked forward to captivity, but at the same time it didn't seem all that bad. He would be able to tolerate it for curiosity's sake if nothing else. He could use a break from all those tiring, threatening missions anyway.

He was just finishing up when there was a knock on the door, dragging him from his musings and putting him in a sour sort of mood. The knock came again, louder and harder than before.

"Oi, can you ask Tinkerbell if he's gonna he outta there anytime soon, or do I need to build a new bathroom for the rest of us?"

God, he was so sour. Deidara gripped the handle to the door and swung it open coming face to face with the person he first thought to be Pein, since he could have sworn he had seen him once before giving out orders to Zetsu and Tobi. But it was not Pein as he remembered: the piercings were gone now, all save one in his ear. With only a glance, Deidara knew that the person who stood before him now was far too emotional to be their ex-Leader-sama. That was only good news for Deidara because he didn't want to get in trouble for slugging their precious Leader sama in the face like a drunkard.

"You wanna say something to me, un?"

"Yeah, sorry I interrupted your girl time, but now that we're stuck here you don't need to spend five hours doin' your hair. No one's gonna be looking at you even if you do swing that way."

Deidara took a moment to absorb the fact that Hidan's spirit and filthy mouth had taken residence inside his strict and philosophical colleague. Oh, he was _not_ going through that again! One mind blistering cock mouth was enough to threaten his sanity and he kind of needed that, now that he was stuck in the middle of God knows where with some of the most mindfucked bastards you ever want to meet. Only the arrival of his late partner from the Sand village could make the group worse.

"Who the hell are you, un?"

"I'm your goddamn roommate, Goldilocks."

Deidara felt the side of his head throb. He bit the bottom half of his lip and tilted his head back a bit, trying to obtain that appearance of superiority. "Uh-huh...and on what ground are you coming at me with that sort of attitude?"

"That ain't none of—"

Deidara's hand was spread out around the other man's neck, pushing Pein Number 2 up against the back wall and up off the ground while another arm jabbed into his chest. Pein felt the slit on Deidara's hand open and teeth pressed against his Adam's apple. One quick bite—or one slow bite—and he could be dead.

"W-what the hell do—Ack!"

"Member or not, right now we are only two guys with a beef. I can do to you whatever the hell I want and no one is going to give a damn. So don't risk acting so high and mighty."

Deidara let go and the orange haired male slid to the ground in a crumpled mass, choking for air and grasping his bruised throat. He winced at something else and straightened out on the floor, supporting his body with his arm as he coughed some more. He still hadn't healed from the injuries Sakura found on him and was probably in no condition to get in a fight right afterward. There was something warm and metallic tasting at the back of his throat and after another cough he found blood splattered on the ground, darker than it should have been.

"Bastard."

"Don't blame anyone but yourself. You were asking for it, un."

Deidara backed away and turned towards the kitchen, leaving the former Pein body to write and moan. From the bed in another room Kakuzu had watched with a detached interest but made no move to interfere for either party. He just looked away once the scuffle was over and returned his attention to a magazine he'd found. He had no more reason, that is, none, to help the injured one any more than the others did. There was no friendship between the Akatsuki, not even between Kisame and Itachi, and even if they were friends, no one would help another if his punishment and pain were deserved.

After five minutes on the floor, the least likely figure was standing in front of him, blocking the light that came through the bathroom's window. It was midday, so the west-facing wall had a lot of light to be blocked, and yet he couldn't ever have her confused for anyone else.

Without a word Sakura knelt down and turned him over, pressing her hands over the bruised skin from underneath a shirt she could have sworn belonged to her at some point. Her hands glowed a dull green and the humming feeling of her chakra seeping into his wounds instantly put him at ease. The only thing keeping him from being at total, sweet peace with this chakra was the surprise it gave him. It was so strange to be healed without brutality and extra pain. It was like the warmth of another human being. A few of his ribs were still broken and hurting, but now the pain was a dull shadow.

She looked into his eyes and scowled, turning away.

"You shouldn't go provoking others. They're not hurt in the first place like you are," she said with a noticeable lack of emotion. For some reason this caused him to bristle.

"You didn't see it all, how could you have anything to say about it? How do you know what really happened? For all you know he could have tried to eat me, and don't tell me that's far-fetched! I've seen the shit that plant freak chokes on!"

Sakura pulled her hands away and the green glow of chakra blinked, looking over at him before sighing tiredly. "I didn't need to see anything to know it was you who started things. Deidara was the one doing nothing harmful in the bathroom and you are the one with the explosive temper."

"_He's_ the one with the temper!"

Sakura shook her head. "Even if that's true, and I'm not doubting you, I don't think he would randomly start something in the hallways like that."

"You think I care what you think?" He stared at her a long time before pulling away and standing up on his own.

"I know you don't."

"Damn right I don't. I'm a shinobi." He said it like it was something that should make her wide eyed with awe, but of course she already knew that about him. She had taken her time to review her old bingo books and stole records on criminal organizations.

"I know." Without warning she reached out and traced the scar that was deep and intimidating across the front of his forehead. He flinched at the touch but didn't pull away. "I know a lot about you. You got this scar when you fought with Jiraiya-san and before being captured you were a member of the Fūma clan. Is that what I should call you? Fuma-san? It's been this long and yet I don't even know your name."

He stared at her a long time before pulling away and standing up on his own. Sakura thought he was going to walk out on her without a word, but he just stood there, staring down at her. "Don't call me that. Don't associate me with _them_. My name is Ren. Don't call me anything else."

"Ren-san, then?"

He made a face like he had just tasted something sour. "Uh, whatever you want, I won't be talking to you that much if I can help it, so…so do as you please."

"Okay, well you already know you can call me Sakura, but just use whatever you prefer."

She turned away, looking down at the ground, waiting for him to walk away. She expected him to do so because of all her previous encounters with him had ended up less than pleasant and to be honest, she didn't think he liked her any more than she liked him-which wasn't very much to start with. She could still feel his shadow behind her on the floor, a hair away from covering herself. It made her uncomfortable. At some point they had changed positions. When did that happen? She doubted there was something he wanted from her. Even if that was so, what were the odds the prick would ask for it?

When he didn't leave Sakura decided to kill two birds with one stone: she would ease away her anxiousness with a toned-down interrogation disguised as friendly banter. She didn't want to talk to him, or even stay around him longer than needed, but she couldn't pass up an opportunity to retrieve information on a future enemy. "Well, Ren-san, how old are you?"

"How would I know that, if what you say about me being a pony ride for some twisted parasite was true? I have no fucking idea."

Always with the foul mouth. But somehow he didn't seem to have the energy to fight or just the desire to fight with her anymore. She pressed on anyway. "How old do last remember being? It doesn't look like you have aged any while a body to Pein."

"That's pretty screwed up shit if I haven't aged none...but I guess that would make me twenty-one. I'll be twenty-two in the summer."

"That's a good age. I'm the same, only my birthday will be in the early spring," she replied politely. This was good, forward communication.

"You look a little older than twenty one," he commented, earning for himself a dry glare. "Not in a bad way, but more of a..." He started to mumble, "Grown-up, mature sense. It could be way worse."

"I used to know someone like you, someone who didn't know when to back off," Sakura dryly replied. Inwardly she was thinking of her old and unwanted nickname, Hag.

"A friend?"

"Enemy combatant. He was my age as well, though."

"Ah. Figures. How old do you think fish breath is? I bet he's real old since I remember hearing stories about him when I was like...twelve. He could be forty."

Sakura mentally chuckled at the sudden thought of any of the Akatsuki members being old men with walkers. Even so, her conversation wasn't going anywhere she was comfortable with, so she stood and made it look like she was going to leave after another few comments.

"If he really is so old, Kisame-san ages gracefully. Where were you when you heard about him, anyway?"

Any hope Sakura had for further conversation in a civil manner seemed to be shatter with the look that crossed Ren's face. His face was immediately as dark and defensive as could be. "I can't tell you where the Fūma clan is. What the fuck makes you think I would!"

The Fūma clan was one of those clans that had no real land or base of operations that could be visited at like a village or country could like Konoha could. They traveled around a lot to keep their methods of weapon-making a secret and other such things that were only speculated about in rumors. Not much was known about the clan because of its outstanding secrecy, but they always had someone that could be contacted if their services were required, oddly. They were a mystifying piece of the ninja world to be sure.

Sakura dropped his gaze and silently cursed herself. There was no way she would be able to get anything more out of him, even if it was harmless information like his age. What she really wanted to know was how the body transfer process worked and how was Pein able to keep his vessels from aging for up to twenty years in some cases. She also wanted to know more about the chakra rods and how they were able to transfer energy. The odds that Ren knew any of the complications of that were slim to none and he probably wouldn't want to give answers even if he did know them.

As far as she knew, Ren still had one rod in his ear that was receiving some sort of current. The other went off when he first woke up and had to be removed, but the fact that he still had the one gave Sakura reason to worry. That alone could bring her house and more burning to the ground.

"Of course, you have that right." Sakura said with forced civility. "No one is forcing you to say anything or even stay here, really. You are not like the others. You are not bound here by obligation so you can leave whenever you want..." Sakura turned and took a step before finishing what she had to say. She had plans she needed to get to. "Just heal up first. If you tried to leave now, drained of chakra as you are, you'd easily die."

She left him there and emerged in the living room, a yard or two away from the kitchen where of someone was expectedly searching for food in her fridge. There was always someone eating at any time of the day, no matter what or for. That particular time it was Deidara.

He looked up when he heard her, but quickly looked away when he saw she was staring right at him. Somehow it made him uncomfortable, made him feel guilty.

"Is this all the food you have?" he asked, ignoring his nonsensical feelings.

"There's should be more in the pantry."

Before he could say anything more, she turned and he caught the back of her head and a few loose strands of pink disappearing behind a corner. She had left without coming into the kitchen like he thought she would. It'd be tough to find a time when someone wasn't raiding her fridge and would thus see her finding her own food. Did she have her own stash somewhere? Was she just not eating?

Zetsu came in from one of the spare rooms, a book on botany or some such thing in his hand and his plant appendage absorbed neatly into his shoulders, making a nice and fully humanoid body of him. He had probably lifted it from one of the numerous bookshelves scattered throughout the house. It wasn't unusual to see Zetsu with a book, but it was certainly uncommon to see him in a borrowed trench coat that oddly fit him well enough. Someone needed to work out more and buff up.

"Where did you get the coat, un?"

"Sakura-san leant it to me since I could not very well travel in our organization's apparel."

Deidara blinked, a jar with only one pickle left grasped in his left hand, obviously dumbfounded. "Excuse me? You just said 'travel'?"

Zetsu nodded, not looking at him. "Sakura-san and I are going into town to buy supplies."

"What? How come no one told me about this?"

"Itachi will be accompanying us as Kakuzu is still too sore to move great distances. That aside," the dark side of Zetsu's face sneered a little, "**there is no need for you there, jackass. Have you forgotten where you defected from?**"

"When did you decide all this?" Deidara set the pickle jar down and took a step further, his anger kindled. "We're all imprisoned here and you and her just get to go freaking shopping? Did I miss a meeting or something? Fuck, how long will you be gone?"

"Four days."

The pair turned to see Itachi standing alongside a newly arrived Sakura, both dressed in coats that looked like they belonged to her at one point. Itachi's was a dark black but fit him well enough considering he was thinner than most of them and not much taller than Sakura. Over his arm was a satchel that matched the one Sakura was clipping shut. There were something like vials stored inside.

Sakura spoke up. "I have decided to leave Fuyuki in charge of my house while we're away. I guess this doesn't mean shit to you, but he's still in change, get it? Stay out of my lab and try not to destroy anything."

What, like she could just say what was what now? "Excuse me, un? What the hell are we going to do here?"

Zetsu crossed in front of Deidara's vision and took the package from Sakura, acting like a fucking _gentleman_ though everyone knew he wasn't. You lost the ability to be a gentleman after you ate your first human child. What made that demon more qualified to go on a field trip than anybody else?

Again with his creeper grin, he replied mildly, "**Entertain yourselves**."

Itachi went out the door first, followed by Sakura and then Zetsu who was quick to place himself alongside Sakura. Not once did any of them look back. Deidara watched them and his anger built and built. When he turned around again, he saw the pale-haired, green-eyed guy also staring out the window. Deidara hadn't recognized him at first and had to have someone tell him later that the pale body was also one Pein used to move around in. Apparently after the loss of the still-transmitting chakra spikes, he had reverted to his original appearances.

Deidara didn't feel comfortable around the guy, he looked like he knew more than he was telling and didn't care enough to share shit with anybody. To say nothing or his hair. (For the record, Deidara never did have any qualms about "girly" men in the organization.)

Deidara glared, watching as Fuyuki turned away from the window and stopped his pale eyes on Deidara's. They stared for a while at each other, sizing the other up like hunting houds. Fuyuki broke off his gaze and turned to leave, completely silent the whole time.

He passed Kisame in the hall as he was coming towards Deidara. "God, what's wrong with that dude?" he scoffed once they were standing near each other.

"Did you know about those two planning on ditching us, un?" Deidara spat immediately.

Kisame only blinked. "Two? I thought Itachi was going with them. They all left together."

"How come I didn't know anything about this, then!"

Kisame shrugged. "You were busy with somethin', I guess, and didn't want to join us."

"But we always—I should have—someone should have told me even if I wasn't there! Why did you leave me out? This is kind of a big freaking deal!"

"It doesn't make a difference, you wouldn't have been allowed to go with them anyway." Kisame scoffed again. "Someone would have recognized you. I seem to recall you terrorizing a lot of helpless families for money before joining Akatsuki."

Deidara sulked, shoving the jar across the counter, dangerously close to the edge. "I can't fucking stay locked up here. When do we get our chakra back and when do we leave this place?"

Kisame ignored him rescuing the pickle jar from the edge only to screw off the lid and pick out the last one. It crunched loudly beneath his teeth, sounding fresh. There was still a lot of green in the jar with floating seeds that needed to be thrown out, but Kisame threw his head back and downed it all. He'd never been picky about what he ate or drank, so long as he got something about every three hours. Kisame burped and then wiped his mouth with his bare arm.

"You're not locked up. You can leave whenever you want, hypothetically. I doubt you would survive very long without your chakra in this country, but even if you did, our precious Leader-sama would hunt you down for desertion, and I'm not talking about Pein."

Deidara scowled, balling his fists with frustration. Kisame seemed unaffected by the look shot his way and turned to leave again.

"And just where are you going, un?"

Kisame paused only for a moment to look back with his reply. "I'm going for a walk. The house is pretty huge, if you didn't notice. Look around a while, I'm sure you'll find something interesting."

Interesting? Deidara scoffed at the thought. If "interesting" meant medical tools and women's clothes and an increasingly small amount of food. Slamming his hands deep into his pockets he turned down a hallway looking for the room he had been assigned. He caught sight of Sakura's bed from within her room and paused, noticing how empty it was. Kakuzu claimed to be too sore to move, and thus had stayed behind while Zetsu and Itachi took off with Sakura.

Curious now, Deidara stuck his head into the room and looked around, finding it empty. If that man was too sore to be moving around, where was he, and how did he get there without Deidara noticing?

"Hmph, fucking creepy bastard, never did like him, never did like any of them. Stupid...un."

* * *

I love Deidara...I really do. Him and Itachi. The chapters will start getting longer.

Your thoughts?

PLEASE REVIEW

-Vesper chan.


	7. VII

_Standard disclaimer applied._

Written by Vesper chan  
Beta edited by _StormDragon666_

Chapter Seven

Saw Cinderella in a party dress,  
She was looking for a nightgown.  
I saw the devil wrapping up his hands,  
He's getting ready for the showdown.  
I saw the minute that I turned away,  
I got my money on a pawn tonight.

* * *

Sakura tugged down the scarf that wrapped around her lower face and exhaled forcefully. White clouded around her chapped lips. Both of her companions were behind her, one closer than the other, neither ever very far off.

Itachi stood a yard and a half away from the group and was looking more concerned with his surroundings that whatever it was Sakura was standing in front of. Zetsu on the other hand was dedicated and attentive. It seemed like one had a sense of duty or at had the grace to be grateful. It wouldn't have been so bad if she could just forget the fact that he ate people for sustenance...dead ones to boot. Usually.

Though she had only traveled with them for a half a day, a night as well, counting resting time, she was starting to get a feel for their personalities. At first the entire organization seemed so cold, withdrawn and identical in all but appearance. The more time she spent with these two, though, the more details she picked up on, and the more she could discern their character from their comrades'.

For example, Zetsu did not like running. He was used to traveling through the ground to get to where he wanted to go, and going at his own pace, but without chakra he had to deal on his own. It was perfectly possible she might have imagined it, but she could have sworn this annoyed Itachi, who was used to pushing himself and his speed in order to keep up with Kisame. Itachi was also appearing to be somewhat condescending towards Zetsu, who was in turn apparently ashamed of his less-than-superhuman speed and appeared to be grateful when Sakura told them to slow down with the valuables they were carrying.

For the most part, after her reprimanding, things went smoothly. Only when his darker, snappier side came out did things ever look tense, and even then it was never bad enough to make her want to stop and uproot a tree in front of either of them.

They were where they needed to be now and it was almost dawn in Iwa, tinting the dark skies red and purple. It was probably colder the normal due to the early hour, but Sakura's body was still humming from the run so she hardly took notice.

Itachi hung back and let her operate on her own, only speaking when absolutely necessary and looking at her even less. All during the trip down he had been a disturbing presence that set the hairs on the back of her neck on end. No matter what, quietly proud Itachi was impossible to get along with, it seemed.

"This is the place. Bring the supplies inside so I can sell them," she instructed, waving to the front doors.

Itachi gave the building a quick once-over before entering, but otherwise did not look impressed. He had, no doubt, seen his fair share of official government buildings and this was not nearly so grand and magnificent as he must have seen. Zetsu did not look any more impressed, but at least he was trying to be cordial. But "trying" only went so far.

"Sooo," she said, drawing the word out as she led the pair towards the back. "Either of you two ever been here before?"

Neither answered for a while. After it became obvious that Itachi wasn't about to part his lips for any sort of conversation Zetsu inserted a quick and awkward, "Never."

"Okay, then...first time for everything I guess," she breathed, pushing forward. That would be the last time she tried being nice to either of them for a while. It's not like she wanted to be with either of them, but this was the hand fate dealt them and they should at least try to make the best of it!

_'Who cares? Their conversations with each other in Akatsuki probably aren't much more engaging.'_

Sakura lead the two of them further towards the back, around the receptionist's desk and through a long, locked-off hallway that led down to another room. There were guards there, sitting on either side of a door and reading newspaper. Sakura didn't stop or slow down when she saw them, just kept walking. Neither of the guards moved to stop her, but the one tipped back his headband to get a good look at her more than her friends before she passed through the door.

One side of Zetsu thought it was odd that an Iwa guard would spend more attention on a regular visitor rather than two shady strangers, but the other side just laughed, understanding it all already. Sakura was quite a woman in figure he had to admit.

A _fine_ woman in figure.

Finally they were at the last room, standing before an impressive steel-and-chakra-laced door that required a special key card for entry as well as a number code. Sakura produced such a card than punched in the needed digits. Moments later the doors parted and they were soon allowed into a whole new city breathed and bred unnoticed by the general population: the Iwa underground.

The ground walls and roofing overhead was all made up of the same material. Everything that wasn't painted over or covered with wood was a smoky gray from the stone that had been there long before any human had the idea to utilize it. Everything had been carved out of preexisting rock and then added onto.

Not much else in the world was more secure and hidden than this place, and yet Sakura walked through the streets, brushing shoulders with no less than the most trusted like it was nothing. She held herself with authority, and for that at least she had the sudden and observant respect of the two men accompanying her.

Not many, if any of the citizens seemed to notice her, but those few who did made sure to part away from her and lower their eyes. The atmosphere would spike between the three whenever something like that happened. Sakura knew well enough how dangerous the two of them were, but neither of them had more than the most general of ideas as to how powerful or skilled she was. There was only so much information one could glean from a nin who had defected, had been both a medic and a fighter and perhaps was still both. Watching the folk of the Underground dodge her so, Itachi and Zetsu glanced at each other and decided it would be better if they stayed on her good side and made an effort to behave better in the future.

Such was owed, merely for gratitude…wasn't it?

It wasn't long before Sakura found the office she wanted amongst the hustling streets. She was in before either could catch the name on the sign. Itachi made a point of glancing only minimally at it, as any observant ninja would. There was no one who could tell that his eyesight was continuing the crumble, and a glance of anything could tell his nothing anymore, and he definitely wasn't going to announce it.

"This is it. You boys want to come in or are you going to wait outside?"

"Would you mind the company?" Zetsu asked, surprising Sakura a bit with his manner. It showed in her eyes that she sensed the ice between them thaw a bit.

"No, actually it would be helpful. The more manpower I have backing me up the easier it will be to come out with the better end of a deal."

"Then we will accompany you in."

"Both of you?" She asked looking up at silent Itachi..

The Uchiha turned his face down towards Sakura and grunted, "Both."

She felt like a child under his words and nodded a heartbeat too quickly, "Ah, good, th-thanks then. Then come in with me. You two don't have to say anything, just stand there looking intimidating and it will be helpful."

"Of course, Sakura-san."

Wordlessly, Itachi grabbed the door handle before she could and pulled it open wide enough for the two of them to walk in at together. Zetsu followed close behind.

The room was large with only one desk and four seats offered to guests. A man with thinly rimmed glasses sat behind the desk and watched them as they entered, pausing in his paperwork to take in the sight before him. His eyes were trained on Sakura, flickering occasionally to her guests and then her bags. No chance of bullying her this time.

"A delivery?" he asked suspiciously.

Sakura took the chair closest to the desk, but her companions remained standing. She opened her own parcel and withdrew a packaged vial with three red and white colored pills. She shook the glass a bit to shake the pills and let the man hear them tapping and rolling against the walls of their prison. She placed the vial down on the table. The man greedily scooped up the vial and turned it over in his hands, eyes roving obsessively over it.

When he spoke his eyes were not for Sakura, but her product. "Your solider pills are always in high demand, Haruno-san."

"Yes, and I have plenty with me today. So I want to sell off as much as I can."

He looked up at her and grinned.

"_Excellent_."

* * *

"What are you doing, Tobi?" Deidara asked without looking up from the blank sketchbook he had found in Sakura's room. He was busy filling up the empty pages with ink and charcoal. He would have liked to ask Sakura where the colored markers were, if she had any, and if she didn't could she please get some for him, because it was god-freaking boring here?

"Tobi is bored. When is Sakura-chan coming back?"

Deidara paused at her name but didn't look up. Sakura, Itachi and Zetsu had been gone two days and were expected to stay gone for two days more. He wasn't really missing any of them, but it was weird staying in a house without the owner. "How the hell should I know. Ask Kakuzu. He knows shit."

Tobi hugged the pillows he'd found lying atop a guest bed, staring down at Deidara's slumped out posture across the floor. "Kakuzu said I was annoying and kicked me out."

"You _are_ annoying Tobi. Get out before I kick you out, too, un."

"Tobi doesn't want to."

Of course it would only work if Kakuzu did it. Freaking scary zombie. "Go find Kisame and annoy him. He likes you...sort of. Fish are stupid like that, un."

"He's talking with Kakuzu. Hidan is setting up an altar in the sun room and told Tobi he would be the next sacrifice if Tobi knocked it over. Ren said he was tired so he fell asleep and Fuyuki-kun is reading, but he said he would play with Tobi once he was done!"

Deidara twirled the charcoal stick around his fingers to get a better angle on his drawing, filling in the shadows on an old man's face. "Then go wait for Fuyuki. I'm busy."

"Tobi doesn't want to be a bother to Fuyuki-kun while he is reading It's rude to bother people when they're reading."

Deidara nearly snapped in half the stick he'd been coloring with. What he was hearing was, "Tobi didn't want to go and annoying anyone else because it would be bothersome, but it's okay to bother Deidara-tan because he's my ex-partner!" Was there something about him that Tobi desperately hated? Had he done something in a past life to the once-masked youth to earn a death-defying grudge? Why was he the only one Tobi thought was okay to bother?

"What the hell is wrong with you, seriously? How the hell did you even get in the Akatsuki with a disposition like that? Please tell me that you were raised by bears or something, un, because no person in the world acts as goddamn stupid as you."

For once Tobi did not have an immediate comeback. He sat quietly with wide, blank eyes the color of coal, not really looking at anything, but rather through everything. It was an odd deviation of character on his part, and one that had Deidara a little…creeped out to be honest. What were the odds that he'd tell Tobi to shut up, and he did? Was it really possible for such a fervent wish to come true? Was it even possible for Tobi to shut up? What had Deidara said to be so traumatic that it was actually able to shut the chattering fiend up.

God, now he was filling the Tobi-less silence with mental ravings! Geez!

Just when Deidara was about apologize and brush his earlier question aside the youngest stood up and jerked towards the door with a bounce in his steeps. "Tobi is hungry, so Tobi is going to get some food!"

"What?"

"Tobi is thinking sandwich...oh darn there's no bread. Maybe a frozen Churo...Mmmm, Tobi can't decide. Time to find out then! Bye senpai." The boy slipped out, slamming the door shut behind him and leaving Deidara a freak mix of flabbergasted and insulted. He should have known better and now he just felt swindled.

"I should have known better. Just because he's a kid doesn't mean nothing, un." Deidara huffed and dropped his sketching materials, frustrated with himself and his reaction to an informality in one of his partners. He would have shown the same amount of interest if Sasori had started singing about flowers or complaining of heat, so it was nothing to get annoyed at. All the same, the earlier conversation was bugging him. Each Akatsuki member had his dark horror stories, but Tobi's were dark in that they were hidden and unknown.

No one knew much about him and even fewer cared. He was just the lap dog and the maid as far as people like Deidara were concerned. Sasori had once warned his younger partner not to judge others so quickly but Deidara didn't give much credence to the advice of corpses. Besides, Sasori was a hypocrite who got himself killed for underestimating a pink-haired girl and a shriveled up grandma. If he wanted to be giving advice he should have paid attention to his own.

A book on one of the shelves caught Deidara's attention since it was named after the very woman he had just been thinking about. It was painfully obvious that he, along with all his buddies in the big black hoods, were indebted with their chakra-lacking lives to that woman and yet he knew not a thing about her...aside from what he read about in bingo books. All that the really had on her was that she was a medic and shared some of the same personality and fighting qualities with her master, the late Hokage, Tsunade.

He went to fetch the book and flipped it open: it was a photo album, showing her younger years in Konoha. From the photos on the first page he would guess her age to be about sixteen, perhaps seventeen. Right before all the tragic shit happened.

Many of the photos showed her in her shinobi attire, but there were a few where she lounged in casual dress among her girlfriends looking prettier than Deidara would like, with a lot of people he mostly didn't know or recognize. A few Hyuuga here and there were the only people he could recognize, in fact, and only because of their dead-giveaway eyes. He recognized photos of the Kyuubi brat and their teacher, Kakashi Hatake. Well, hell, who wouldn't recognize him? Deidara did well enough, since he once ripped off one of his arms. He really hated that guy.

As he flipped through more and more of it, he saw more and more of Hatake, and then more and more of Hatake and Sakura together. He thought it was odd but then he saw a snapshot of her and him together again, but this time Sakura held up an engagement ring to the camera. There were a lot more after that of a wedding and Sakura in a wedding dress and the two of them getting married at a real small chapel somewhere in Mizu.

He stopped and flipped backwards now, not quite believing what he was seeing. The more he looked the more obvious it was: Hatake looked at Sakura the way a man looks at a woman he does not like, but loves. The last few photos in the book made it glaringly obvious in his expression.

"That's fucking retarded," the blond mumbled, feeling something dirty clinging to the back of his throat.

Angrily he closed the album and tossed it across the room, not caring where it landed. It wasn't as if he had feelings for someone he hardly knew, but it was strange how he felt loss over the revelation. Like he had lost an ally. Maybe it was because he hated Hatake so much he was upset to see that guy happy with anyone, much less his present caretaker and landlord. That mean he would have to see the one-eyed bastard and talk with him and—

He stopped and stood up, his thoughts jumping somewhere else. He had not been in her house long, but he had not been shy about helping himself to all the rooms and space it had to offer. Nowhere had he seen any signs of a man living anywhere near Sakura. No clothes or shoes in men's sizes and a moderate amount of food any man worth his salt would complain about and beg to increase. No personal items he could think of, and now that he was thinking about it, he hadn't seen Sakura wearing a ring when she was around him.

Leaving the bedroom he ventured out to see if he was wrong, (something he seriously doubted), checking all the rooms for any sign of male life. Aside from what his comrades had brought with them, he couldn't find anything anywhere that would so much as hint to a husband or even a brother living with Sakura. It looked like she lived on her own. It looked like she and Hatake were either separated, divorced, or he was dead. He hoped for the last…thought divorce would have been all right.

The most likely explanation was that Kakashi was still living as a model citizen in Leaf while his wife had escaped with her life when she was branded a traitor. Still, that was a long time ago. If that was the reason for their separation, did it really still stand?

He was standing outside the door to Sakura's downstairs lab when the latches sprang up, allowing it to swing open. Kakuzu took a step forward and stopped when he saw Deidara staring.

"What do you want?"

"I thought you were with Kisame, un."

Kakuzu blinked, but did not appear intimidated in any way, despite his position. "And I thought you were painting or some artsy shit like that. Is there something you need from me?"

Deidara looked, or tried to look—Kakuzu was tall as all get-out—behind him to see what was downstairs, but he couldn't see anything but some stairs. "What were you doing in Sakura's room? I thought she said she didn't want anyone down there."

"Does it look like I care what she tells me? Leader told us to keep her alive, not keep her happy. I will do as I please, unless you want to try and stop me."

Deidara said nothing, but curled his lip defiantly as moved out of the way to allow Kakuzu through. They both knew, with or without their chakra, Kakuzu would easily come out on top during a fight. It had already been proven, as a matter of fact. After the incident Deidara remembered Kakuzu saying something about taking arms off and putting them right back. No one really liked the guy, but it appeared only Hidan was stupid enough to go and annoy him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Deidara was able to catch a flash of blue running past the window before the back door opened and Kisame came through; he lumbered in, his shirt discarded to expose a well-chiseled chest soaked with sweat. He was breathing heavily and his hair was unusually limp.

"Where were you, un?" Deidara asked a bit more snap to his words than he wanted. He was pissed off with having to deal with his discovery and Kakuzu's stupid superiority.

"For a run, what do you think? You think I'm crazy enough to willingly stay locked up with the rest of you clowns? If I can help it I'm spending as little time indoors as possible."

Deidara frowned, unhappy with the new information. "Some run. I've seen you run from sunup to sundown looking less beat, un."

Kisame gave him a look, not happy with the insult, but replied just as well. "I was gone a couple hours, and if you didn't notice, without any chakra in me. I think I burned twice as much calories without the help."

"Wait a minute. You mean you've been gone all day?" As Kisame tried to walk past him, Deidara doggedly stood in his way. "What about Kakuzu? Weren't you just talking with him a little while ago?"

"What are you, retarded? I just told you, smart ass, that I was busy running up and down the mountainside. As far as I know, Kakuzu's busy stealing the lady's silver. Now where is the damn water faucet? I'm dying of thirst here."

Mutely, Deidara pointed him in the right direction. Being so painfully bored as he was, this new information quickly formed an attention-grabbing mystery…or two.

Mystery number one, why the hell was Kakuzu coming out of Sakura's room and act so damn snotty about it? ( The snotty part wasn't really a mystery but Deidara couldn't help but add it.)

And mystery number two, why would Tobi, of all people, lie about it?

* * *

"No. Fucking. _Way_."

She could feel the anger filling the blood beneath her skin.

Sakura had been asked to do some seriously controversial stuff in her days, but none of that mattered now compared to what she was facing in a gaudy old room that was scaring her more than it really should have. She could feel the twitch in her eye start up again.

"It is only for a few hours meant for the three of us to rest up before going out and collecting our revenue," Zetsu explained, trying to be polite about the terribly awkward situation. "Once that is done we can find a proper hotel."

"Why can't you find a proper one now?" she hissed, , red-faced.

"The situation has already been explained, Haruno. There are no available hotels in the town thanks to the festival," Itachi said cuttingly. He set his things down at one end of the bed.

"Did you check all three establishments? There weren't nearly this many people last year. How can they all be filled?"

"We apologize, Haruno-san, but it is only for a few hours. You have our word, we promise to be as courteous as humanly possible, so you have no need to worry."

Sakura felt the skin all over her body tighten and a vein in her head almost popped at Zetsu's words. "Worried? Oh, I'm not worried about either of you trying to do anything. You both know well enough that if either of you looks at me the wrong way my fist is pushing you so far into the ground you'll hit lava. It's the _principle_ of the matter that has me at my wits' ends."

**"There shouldn't be anything like pride to hinder a ninja from their duty."**

That was it. She snapped.

"That doesn't mean you have to book a seven hour room for us at a _fucking_ _love hotel_!"

* * *

A love hotel. Interesting?

_Meh. _

_I thought so._

Alright my lovely little readers and even lovelier reviewers, I seek to pose a question. Whom among the Akatsuki do you wish to see more of in the future? (This includes Sasori and Orochimaru.) Sakura will have some bonding time with Itachi and Zetsu of course, but once she gets back... well I have a history of falling into harems and romance and yes, this is in the romance category of my fanfictions. I know some characters I really like, but you guys are important.

On a side note, I can't believe I haven't used the Killers up till this point!

October oneshots await me, and if you don't know what that means check out my profile please.

And **_Review_**!


	8. VIII

_Standard disclaimer applied._

Written by Vesper chan  
Beta edited by _StormDragon666_

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* * *

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Chapter Eight

"Mommy, Mommy, tell me a story about _her_ again."

"Who?"

"Izanami-no-kami of course!"

Her mother frowns, her lips thin and at a loss of sudden color. In their native mythology, Izanami-no-Mikoto, also meaning "she who invites" is a goddess of both creation and death, as well as the former wife of the god Izanagi-no-Mikoto.

A dark look crosses over the older woman's jade eyes before vanishing like a shooting star over a black sky. "Why would you want to hear about someone like her again, darling? She has such a sad story. Wouldn't you like something a bit more cheerful? How about Cinderella or Snow White?"

The child shook her head as if the idea was absurd. "No, I want to hear about the rest of Izanami-no-kami. What happened after her husband sealed her away behind the rock to the underworld? What does she do to him? I want to hear the rest of the story."

Someone outside is closing the gate to their old, careworn compound that would soon be demoted to nothing more than a handful of similar houses in a small area. The Haruno no longer hold clan status in the Leaf Village, thanks to the council. Within a week the family would be gone from their old ways of proud living and manage the daily toil of the common citizens, ones they had at one point looked down on. Thankfully Sakura was far too young to remember any of this, so it wouldn't drastically alter her persona.

"There is no more story, darling. That's all that ever happened to her. She doesn't get a happily ever after."

Sakura mad a face as if she were being lied to and her mother almost recoiled at the distain in her daughter's eyes. Such a look on a six-year-old was odd, if not disturbing. "But that's right. She has to get her happy ending, she has to. The story can't end there. Tell me the rest, mommy."

"Baby..."

"I wanna know!"

Her mother broke eye contact and sighed, shaking her head a bit in confusion. Children were an odd lot to deal with, but Sakura was by far the oddest she had ever known. "You shouldn't think about that person or her story too much. It won't do you any good. It doesn't do anyone any good."

"So there is more to the story?"

"Not for a little girl like you who's just about to go to sleep. I can't have you getting nightmares on me, now can I?"

"But...but I wanna know!"

"Sakura..."

"I want to know all about our clan's guardian deity."

Sakura woke with a start, her heart slamming in her chest. Pain like a needle throbbing through the base of her skull flared up before dulling into nothing. Another headache. All too soon she composed herself, remembering where she was and who she was with. Looking over she saw Zetsu's back rise and fall on the other side of the bed, but there was no sign of Itachi.

Deciding she was as rested as she needed to be, Sakura pulled back the satin sheets and slipped her legs over the side of the bed, easing out with as little noise as possible. Though she hated to admit it, she felt so much better after a nap and certainly more energized. Now she would have all the strength and zest needed to deal with the day, something that used to seem so impossible even before the men in black showed up. For some reason she always seemed to be tired.

Movement across the room caught her eye and she turned her torso to see Itachi coming out of the back where the bathroom was, his hand trailing along the wall to aid his failing eyes. Though he attempted to hide it, no medic of Sakura's caliber could miss such signs. Itachi's eyes were dead to him, now even more so without his chakra. He was in a near blind state as it was and yet he still insisted on coming with her.

"How long have you been up?" Sakura asked, keeping her voice low so as to not wake Zetsu. The two-toned man was probably the most exhausted out of them all, having had to actually run on his own two legs recently as opposed to flowing along through the ground as was his preference.

Itachi felt along the end of the large bed for his shirt and pulled it on, cutting off Sakura's view of a fine male specimen's chest. "Not very long. Yourself?"

Sakura was surprised he had bothered to continue to conversation with a question, no matter how brief. "I just got up. Do you know how long until we have to leave?"

"A little more than an hour."

"I should get ready, then. Please don't wake Zetsu just yet."

Sakura stood, pulling up the sides of a robe she had left on the nightstand. She had gone to bed fully dressed in pants and a dark sleeveless shirt and yet, all the same she felt naked and exposed in front of Itachi, which was absurd considering he was practically blind. It was completely stupid, yet she couldn't stop the insistence in her.

When she passed around the bed where Itachi had seated himself, she felt his hand reach out to grab her wrist, stopping her.

"...Breakfast."

"Excuse me?"

"...Would you like breakfast. You have not eaten in some time now."

"Yeah...I'll have something after I shower." Sakura was prepared to pull away but stopped herself, picking up on what Itachi's reason for all the questioning was. "Have you eaten yet or were you waiting for me?"

"It would have been rude to go on my own," he said, his tone indifferent. He let go of her wrist and turned away.

Sakura knew if he had his vision back he would not have hesitated to go on his own to eat. The only reason he was waiting for Sakura was because he had no idea where the food was being served and how to get anything once he was there. Like a cold downpour in Suna heat it hit home with Sakura; He needed her more than she needed him.

"I'll go with you once I'm done. Wait for me." Sakura replied pulling away and heading towards the shower. Moving as discreetly as possible, she turned slightly to look over her shoulder and see if he was watching her. He wasn't, but from his posture she could tell he was listening intently and that was enough for her.

She wasn't long, but by the time she had finished her shower she thought for sure Zetsu would have been up, yet once she was outside and dressed she found him still asleep on the bed. There was sunshine on his back and he seemed to relax into it. He was probably thankful for the heating the hotel provided for guests since he was part vegetation, and vegetation did not fare well in low temperatures.

Why did he even agree to come with her if he knew he might be cold? It was obvious to anyone who took the time to observe him that he hated cold, and yet he had left the security of her warm home to travel with her and Itachi.

Speaking of him. Itachi was not where she had left him, but he stood close to the window, pulling back the curtain to flood the room with light. Sakura figured it was easier for him to see in brighter places even if his eyes were near useless. He didn't look up when she approached, but she knew he had heard her since his body tensed. She stopped next to the bed and looked down at the last sleeping member.

"Should we wake him up?" she asked quietly.

"No. Leave him be." Itachi was up and moving away from the window, heading slowly towards the door, taking careful note of his surroundings. He stopped when he noticed she wasn't following him. Turning slightly, he moved his head in her direction and frowned, hearing the tip of a pen scratch out something on paper. "What are you doing?"

"I'm leaving him a note in case he wakes up while we are out. I don't want him freaking out if he finds himself alone."

"Zetsu is Akatsuki. he will not freak out." _There is no need to leave him a note._

Sakura almost flinched at the low, simmering tone of the Uchiha and the unspoken message that followed. It wasn't as powerful as she knew it could be, but his voice told her he was most annoyed with her actions and wanted no more of it. He wasn't used to not having his order obeyed, and certainly not having nearly supreme authority.

"Fine, I'm finished anyway. We can go n-"

"Wait."

Zetsu rolled over, groaning all the way before sitting up in bed. He rubbed his face and smeared out the early-riser tears that had dried on his lashes. "Forgive me for not waking sooner. If we need to leave, I will be ready in a moment."

If she wasn't human, Sakura could have sworn she saw Itachi fume at the new development. But of course there was no change in the physical features of her Uchiha, and in all likelihood it was probably a mixture of her imigination and a trick of the lighting.

Sakura looked up at Itachi, expecting him to say something about how Zetsu shouldn't bother, but he didn't say a word. Seeing as how their partner wasn't saying anything, Sakura mutely nodded and made way for Zetsu to get up and stagger towards the bathroom. In less the a minute, the green haired man was coming back, only one arm in his shirt as he pulled it down over his chest. He took up his coat and folded it over one arm, ready to apply it once they reached the outdoors.

He caught Sakura's eye and turned away, running a hand through his hair and freeing flakes of dandruff. "I will shower once we return. I wouldn't want to keep you waiting any longer that you already have."

Climbing to her feet, the pink haired woman shrugged absently. Itachi was already out the opened door and in the hallway while Zetsu followed close behind Sakura. Itachi's steeps were deliberately slowed, allowing for Sakura to pass him up and lead the two of them out the back entrance where she hoped they would not be spotted. It was shameful enough already to just be renting from such a low-class facility, she didn't want anyone to stop and gawk at her.

"Is there anything either of you had in mind for breakfast?" Sakura asked, coming out from the back alley, her breath clouding as it left her lips.

Itachi stayed silent, and replying was left to Zetsu. "We have no particular preferences. Whatever is fast and cheep. We still have yet to repay you for all you have given us already."

Sakura felt a bitter smile seed on her lips but bit it back. "You have an appointment with a financer of the organization later. I will accompany you instead of leaving for shopping. I want to be there for it."

**"That would not be such a good idea."**

Sakura felt her face heat up and was reminded of being a scolded child by the tone of Zetsu's words. It was blatantly clear just from his sudden tone that he didn't see himself under her anymore. He was acting in a position of power, a position with leverage. She was no longer in charge, but rather, in trouble. "What are you—"

Zetsu turned his face towards her and looked at her with only one side, cutting her off.** "You would only slow us down."**

Sakura turned her face towards at Zetsu and tightened the skin around her eyes; the freckles of gold that rimmed her green irises were sparking. "I _will_ be there, least you forget to whom you are indebted to, not only financially, or have you forgotten why you are no longer hanging from a pike in Mizu?"

The reference to his absolutely real death seemed to chase the darkness in Zetsu back, and Sakura was no longer on the receiving end of his put-downs. His eyes flashed a cold gold before closing. He shook his head, seeming to rid himself of the second persona before turning back to address Sakura.

"Forgive me Sakura-san. I merely meant to put your safety first. Being seen with us will only bring you enemies."

"Is this coming from the same person who walks the street without chakra or a master? Don't group me with the weak medics and kunochi you've seen before in your life Zetsu-_san_. I can hold my own well enough."

Before anything more could be said, Sakura ducked into closest restaurant doorway, regardless of what they served. Inside, an array of low seating and tables separated by rice screens and fake plants made up the bulk of the floor. There were only a handful of customers sitting back and relaxing against the pillows or leaning over the built in grills where food sizzled and popped. None of them were loud or distracting.

Sakura guessed there should have been someone to seat her, but she didn't want to wait so she led her companions to a back table. She slid in after Zetsu and Itachi followed her immediately. Too late, she realized that, firstly, they were boxing her in, and secondly, that they were doing it so goddamn awkwardly.

Thankfully, a waitress hurried over just then to take their orders. Zetsu ordered a large dish of meat; Sakura wanted a fruit salad with moon cakes and Itachi quietly requested the same '_Sucks to not be able to read a menu.' _Sakura muttered inwardly.

Once the waitress left, the atmosphere started to stale, affecting Zetsu more than either Sakura or Itachi. Tea came for the three of them, but other than that, none of them dared interact for some time.

Sakura rolled her handless cup between her palms, staring into the circling waters tinted green. "When will you be meeting this financer?"

"I-in a few hours, around noon."

Sakura looked up at the Akatsuki man from underneath her eyelashes before nodding a little less tense. "Wouldn't Kakuzu normally be the one to handle financial issues for...uhh, all of you? Will you still be able to withdraw without him?"

Zetsu perked up with the lighter tone Sakura used. "Yes, that normally is his job, however he seemed to be ill after revival and could not make the long trek. In case of such an incidence, I take over finances. After me comes Itachi and then...well that would be Deidara, now. Formally Sasori would be the next in line, however..."

"Hn..." Itachi grunted before lifting the rim of his cup to his lips, his eyes closed.

"It's fine." Sakura held up a hand, her eyes still cast down towards her drink. "That was a different day and age when I played for a different team. I'm sure you have noticed by now, no matter when it was you died, but I'm no longer a..."

She stopped, looking up and catching the eye of a customer who sat across the aisle. The older man blushed and looked away, embarrassed at being caught listening to their conversation. The man wasn't particularly fit and his chakra signature was too low to bother masking, so she assumed he was just a nosey civilian.

Yet even civilians were dangerous if they knew something they could repeat, and banishment from Konoha was certainly not something she wanted spread around. Too many elders from the last great ninja war still lived. Scrunching up her nose, Sakura took a sip of her tea to clear out her throat and dropped her eyes.

"Anyway, I'm not the same person, either way."

"I was wondering why you didn't report us, and I found it curious someone such as yourself would own a house so far away from home."

"That house is my home now."

Zetsu did not reply and so until their food came, the only sound to come from their table was that of tea cups touching tabletop and lips parting to sip warm tea. It was quiet, but the stifling cloud of physical tension was now gone, making it a pleasant, peaceful silence.

Since Zetsu's order of meat was family-sized, the three of them ended up splitting. Sakura was surprised to see that Itachi had finished off his moon cakes before she had a chance to touch her own. She offered him half of hers but he declined, and then gave Zetsu the chance, but he declined as well.

They were close to finished when Itachi stiffened and gripped the edge of the table. Sakura looked up and saw the tense lines stretch from underneath his eyes. "I recognize those chakra signatures," he whispered, closing his eyes to concentrate. "Zetsu, there should be two of them, both blonds. Do you see them?"

Sakura looked up and spotted a pair of men enter in through the front. The fabric hanging in the doorway cut off everything above their chests, but once that was pushed aside she confirmed them both as the males Itachi had spoken off. She wouldn't have noticed it if she wasn't looking for it, but both appeared fit and lithe. A bump in the side of one's coat tipped Sakura off to where his weapon's pouch hid. A woman came to greet them and led them to a table in the back, away from where Sakura and her two companions were.

"Who are they?" she asked.

"No one we would like to tangle with without our chakra. **Asses from the past Itachi and fish face forgot to bump off.**"

Itachi didn't bother to reply, but tugged on Sakura's arm, dragging her out. She had just enough time to leave the money on the table before Zetsu took over and led them both out the front, going out of the way to stay hidden. They didn't head back towards the hotel, but took off in the opposite direction so as to not be spotted from the restaurant window. By the time they circled around to face the direction of their hotel, both the Akatsuki had relaxed.

Maybe it was just because of what they saw, but while walking back Sakura took notice of how close either of the two men kept themselves in regards to her. The streets were very not crowded, and there was more than enough room to walk at an arms distance, but all the way from the restaurant was filled with brushing shoulders and rubbing elbows. Itachi, she would understand, seeing as how he was nearly blind and could walk easier by keeping near someone, but strangely enough it was Zetsu who seemed to be acting more clingy.

Upon entering, Zetsu left them both in the lobby while he disappeared upstairs to get their things and check out.

Sakura sat herself down on a waiting couch while Itachi remained against the wall, his palms pressed to the surface from behind his back. Sakura risked a peek and saw that the lonesome Uchiha had closed his eyes. Seeing him like this was...different. She was not used to someone she had viewed close to a demon god so weak and dependent. Sure, he was still a great danger, but nothing close to what he used to be, a genjutsu expert with seemingly no equal on the earth.

"Who are they, Uchiha?" she asked, suddenly feeling the urge to hear his voice.

"Iwa mafia. They crossed paths with the Akatsuki and we made sure that was the last time. I am sure they have not forgotten the injury."

"Are they powerful? Their chakra was mostly masked so I couldn't really tell, but you must be more sensitive to such things. Jonin level, maybe?"

"ANBU, though not particularly high-ranked. There is a reason they survived."

Sakura frowned, looking away. "I can maybe take on one ANBU, but I'm chiefly a medic so two is out of the question. In your condition who would be the most powerful out of all of you?"

"Kisame. He may not appear it with all that bulk, but he is actually quite agile. The rest are well enough to hold up with just taijutsu." Even without vision behind those eyes of his, when Itachi turned to look down at Sakura, she could have sworn he saw her perfectly. "Don't be misled into thinking that without our chakra we are only a burden. We will hold our own, should the need come."

Why did that sound like a threat to her, personally, Sakura wondered. Her distrust did not waver and refused to falter in the least. Just then Zetsu came down with their things, stopping Sakura from even thinking up a reply. He handed each their bags and Sakura made sure her weapons pouch was strapped on tight.

"It may be unplanned, but I believe it to be beneficial for us to see our accountant as soon as possible."

"Agreed."

The two men turned towards the door and Sakura stood up to follow but was pushed back down by a sharp pain that exploded from the base of her skull. Itachi stopped, but only Zetsu looked back at her, checking to see what was wrong.

She ran her hand through her hair and pushed back the foremost strands while inhaling deeply. A quick burst of chakra around her sinuses and the pain was numbed, not gone. She stood, her chin pushed up and fell beside the pair as if nothing was wrong.

Zetsu looked like he wanted to ask about it, but decided against it. He went on walking. Sakura fell behind him and checked to make sure he wasn't watching to wipe her nose, smearing dark blood across her gloves.

She pretended not to notice the twitch of Itachi's nose at the smell.

* * *

A little more romance...in the works. Zetsu is clingy and Itachi is...well, I don't know. Your thoughts? There will be more bonding now that I think I've built a strong enough foundation for it. Thank you for waiting and keeping up with it so far.

And **_Review_**!


	9. IX

_Standard disclaimer applied._

Written by Vesper chan  
Beta edited by _StormDragon666_

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Chapter Nine

"Watching you is painful." Ren huffed, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. "It's like a fucking backwards nightingale syndrome…with you being the pussy."

Fuyuki merely glared up at the ex-Pein host. He turned away and sunk deeper into the dusty old couch. In his hands, wrapped around his knuckles was a light green scarf that was designed for fashion over convenience. He was holding the fabric close to his face in a shameless attempt to get high off the lingering scent of its owner.

"God, my eyes are gonna bleed at this rate. Don't you have any pride as a man?"

"Go away, Ren."

"Screw Nightingale, this is Stockholm Syndrome. For Kami's sake, she has a freaking husband."

"You don't know that!" Fuyuki hastily interjected before the younger could ramble much further. "Deidara-san said that he probably died…or left her."

"Deidara is emotionally compromised..." Ren huffed, using two fingers to flip his bang up and out of his face before refolding his arms. "And it doesn't matter, since you're forever being a goddamn pussy about it. When a man likes a woman he doesn't cower and cry in a closet with her _stuff, _for God's sake!"

"I'm not cowering in a closet, this is a storage room for one, and two, I'm not crying over anything."

"Either way, she wouldn't want to get into a relationship with you, considering what you did to her friends while you were still possessed. Just give up."

He flinched. "That's low, to use an excuse that applies to you, too, Ren." The white haired male looked up from underneath his tussled bangs. They were hard to tell apart from the rest of his hair, considering how long it all was. His eyes were hard towards Ren as he wrapped Sakura's scarf around his knuckles once more shortening it up. "Why are you bothering me about Sakura-san in the first place? She doesn't mean anything to you."

"She _is_ nothing to me, and it should be the same for you." Ren said. His lips curled and quivered at a thought he didn't want to face. He pushed off the frame of the door and uncrossed his arms. "If she had been anyone else you would have fallen in love with them just as much because they were the one to free you from that hell. She would be nothing to you any other way."

The green-eyed male looked up with a glare ready but only saw Ren's back disappearing around the corner in search of something more exciting. Huffing, Fuyuki turned back to Sakura's scarf and inhaled, loving the smell. If he closed his eyes it was just like having her there with him.

Ren was wrong. He wouldn't fall in love with any random person who saved him. Sakura was different in more ways that he could count. For one, she had a history with all the Pein bodies, and thus had every right to execute on sight the killer of so many of her friends, and yet she didn't. Instead she honored her vow as a medic, took him into her home and cared for him as if he was any other injured man.

Then there were her circumstances: she was forever, of her own free will, seeing to the various needs and messes of her "visitors" and was forever, righteously, frustrated about it. Somehow that made her all the more alluring. Like a kitten caught in the rain, anyone would want to shelter it and give it love. A similar feeling was mixed into his affection for Sakura, but it was far deeper than that. She was beautiful, intelligent, so independent, and…

Noise from outside snapped him back to reality. Kisame had come back from another run and he was going on about something, and Deidara was yelling right back at him. Fuyuki stood up and hid Sakura's scarf behind a pillow before moving out to investigate. He didn't want any of the other men seeing his token like Ren had, in fear of a similar reaction. It wasn't that he was ashamed of his feelings for her, he just didn't like being mocked, and heaven forbid he stir up competition in some of them like Deidara or Tobi.

Kisame's voice was thundering now. "I'm fucking telling you I did it. I was about to use m-"

"Then how come you can't now? You're not making any sense, un."

"Shut up and let me get it out there, little shit. You're such a prissy bitch when woken up, Deidara, you know that?"

"You want this knife up your ass now or later, bastard?"

"Enough!" Kakuzu shouted, pushing them both roughly back. He glared at them both. "I would like to hear the testimony once more, Kisame. After you have finished we'll speculate, but not until then. Where were you when this happened?"

They were all standing in the large room that had three different sinks and a small corner shower meant for rinsing off mud, plus a motor driving washing and drying machine. Hidan was on the fringe of the group and beside him stood Ren.

Tobi was absent.

Kisame huffed and bared a fang at Deidara before beginning. "Not far from here. I couldn't quite see the house but I was probably just out of sight. I was running when the ground underneath gave out and on reflex I was going to apply some chakra to the soles of my feet and grip the wall to balance myself. Not like I could do it now, with all our chakra gone, right? But for a minute there, I could feel it inside me, and getting steadily out. It wasn't long, not even five seconds, but I stood on the rock face, halting my fall with only chakra. After that I tried using it again, like with a jutsu, but nothing happened...like it was nothing but a fluke."

"Could there be something relating to your surroundings that could explain this?"

Kisame shook his head. "Nah, that was coming from me. I know what it is like to use someone or something else's chakra, and I'm telling you that was one hundred percent, all-organic me."

Kakuzu thought this over. He took a pause to look over his shoulder at the rest of the group before turning back to Kisame. "I would like to see where you fell and perhaps question you further." He turned to look behind him again. "The rest of you should remain here. We will be back momentarily."

"What the fucking hell, man?" Hidan slurred, taking a step towards the door. "Why is it just you that gets to go?"

"Hidan, this is something I would like to discuss with Kisame on a level of intellect that people like you are sorely unable to measure up to." Kakuzu turned away from Hidan and gripped Kisame on the shoulder, guiding him out and closing the door behind them.

Hidan stood there with a cloudy expression.

"I think that fucker just called me a dumbass."

* * *

Sakura dragged the nail of her forefinger down her cheek over and over again. She was bored with waiting outside in the cold while her two partners did business insides the shady-looking building behind her. Being the only one who could use chakra, she was of course the natural choice for guard duty. The owner didn't have goons to spare for their protection, only his own.

The newly formed trio had come in early after all, so that meant they had to wait an extra five to ten minutes while their handler finished up with another, lesser client. On top of that wait, the actual process of drawing out so much money was starting to add up. By Sakura's estimates, it had already been half an hour since they arrived. They still had a lot of shopping to do before the day was over and then there was the matter of finding a hotel room that was respectable.

On her own, she had pulled a young boy off the street and paid him to rent her an ox cart that would take whatever they bought that day up to her house via mountain pass. The boy had come back less the five minutes later with the slip of paper, a bill.

That was all quite some time ago, and Sakura was starting to get bored. Being a ninja, you learned to be patient with tiring issues, but it had been so long since Sakura had truly thought of herself as a ninja. She was quick as ever, and her chakra supply was beyond healthy, but the last time she engaged in combat was with a wild animal eight months ago. The last human she messed with was... unknown to her. Thinking about it she frowned, she needed to get back into shape. Especially now that there was an evident threat to her safety so close to home.

No, she still didn't trust any of them, not even Fuyuki.

There was the sound of scuffling across wood and Sakura perked up, pushing off the wall and letting her arms fall to her side just as Itachi and Zetsu slipped out. She looked them up and down and searched their expressions, but as always, they were blank so she had no idea how the meeting went. "Well? How was it?"

"Well enough, I should think," said Zetsu, coming out with his eyes cast down towards his chest as he buttoned the last few. "We were not able to take as much as we would have liked, but we came away with enough to support ourselves, an you as well. Your kindness up to this point has been greatly appreciated, Sakura-san."

"Then are you ready to shop?"

"The sooner the better. I am anxious to get back," he replied.

Sakura looked around Zetsu to Itachi who had remained silent as usual and mentally shrugged to herself, feeling the material of her coat press all around her. She really shouldn't be expecting the Uchiha to say anything. She was lucky to get a "good morning" and a "how are you" once every day.

"Okay, if you say so. I already rented a ox cart, so we can buy in bulk and get everything cheaper."

"Cheaper, at this time of the year?" Zetsu asked. "I should think the food sells out quickly around here before winter hits."

"Leave the food to me; I know enough friends to haggle a discount. You should focus on finding clothes for the rest of your companions."

Itachi frowned and Zetsu raised an eyebrow before replying. "Are you implying, Sakura-san, that we split up in order to shop? I would have thought you to be against something of that sort. And what if one of us, or yourself, were to run into trouble?"

Sakura nodded, running a finger along the collar of her coat and pulling it closer to her cheek, not really looking at either of them. "I thought of that, and was against splitting up, but I spotted the two blondes you were talking about earlier and it looked like they were turning in for the day with a client. I would rather take the risk of splitting up for a few hours and getting all of our work finished a day early then hang around longer than we need to. What do you think?"

Zetsu looked behind him at Itachi, but the Uchiha simply closed his eyes and turned his face away, removing himself from the discussion. Sakura took it as his way of not caring what happened either way: a mental _whatever_. Zetsu must have known that, since he looked away and nodded to Sakura's idea. He listed off the name of three stores he and Itachi would be in and told her they only planned to be in there two hours, no more, before heading back to the new hotel to rest. They had one in mind, but if there were no rooms they listed off the second and third choices.

They all agreed to leave early the next morning.

Sakura nodded and stepped away, pausing to glance back and see if they were already gone, but only Zetsu's back was turned towards her. Itachi remained where she left him, staring out into nothing with his unseeing eyes. He was looking in her general direction—where he heard her—searching for her somehow. Sakura stopped and at the sound of her boot hitting dirt he blinked, turning away to follow his partner. Smiling, she shook her head and walked away, thinking herself absurd for comparing the Uchiha's face to that of a child's after being separated from his mother.

'How silly can you be, Sakura?' she asked mentally.

Moving on she filed out her request with a grocer she had know for two years now, ever since he had brought his only son to her to heal after the boy had fallen victim to a lethal flu. Zetsu had been right about it being hard to get discounts at this time of year, but Sakura wasn't getting her discounts because of bulk purchases. Like she expected, she was greeted with bright smiles and warm hugs before being served like a star customer. Hojo, the grocer and father, had wanted to give her up to fifty percent off her purchases, but Sakura would only accept ten percent, and dare go no further.

"So, might I ask what you would be doing with all this food, Sakura-san?" Hojo asked, as he handed the list off to his eldest daughter. He pulled back his cap and rubbed his hand forward over his balding head before reapplying it.

"I have several patients who are too weak to leave my care and unfortunately, they eat like animals. I don't normally house anyone because I prefer to treat them a more familiar environment, but these…particular cases..." she let her sentence hang, leaving it up to his imagination.

"Do you know anything about any large fights that might have taken place nearby?" he asked her, his eyes shifty as he licked his pale lips, dry from gossip. He was worse that an old woman sometimes, something his wife wouldn't shut up about, since she had to live with it.

"No, but I bet you do." Sakura shifted forward, eager for the information. Anything she could pick up could be the clue that leads her to the origin of her problems. She felt guilt about asking, but it was too much of a problem for her to not try and get out of. Tough nuggets if they didn't understand, they would have done the same—if not something much worse.

"Old Iro-baka was spouting off about having seen a fighting ground up in the mountains not too far from where you live. Said there was fire and everything flashy from a ninja fight." Sakura felt her heart deflate a bit, knowing that Iro was Hojo's friend and a town drunk, prone to turning a breeze into a storm whenever possible. He was not a credible source.

"Is that so? Did Iro see who it was that was fighting?" she asked, humoring her friend.

"That's the funny thing. I thought it would be some of the local riffraff, or at least kin from the country, but Iro said they were from Leaf!"

Sakura felt her heart jump from the feeling of hammers pounding against her insides and something inside her twisted her into believing that this story might just be true. There was too much hope in her to be denied. "Did...did Iro get a good look at these ninja? What did they look like?"

_Was one tall, with gray hair and an eye patch?_

"Ah...yeah, he said something about what they looked like, but I can't quite recall..." he looked over at Sakura and frowned, seeing her cheeks a dull ashen color and her eyes stressed as she stared down at his hands, not really focusing on anything. "Is there something wrong, Sakura? Do you think any of your patients could be...?"

"No. None of them are from Leaf, I'm positive of that. They are all from other various villages and I don't think they were recently in any condition to be fighting. I wouldn't call them shinobi at this point." She looked up at Hojo's face and forced a smile. "Do you think I could get in contact with Iro at this time? If this happened close to my home I would like to know as much as I could. I'm surprised I didn't know about this sooner. I'm outside everyday so I should have seen something," she lied, knowing that it was rare anymore for her to travel far enough to lose sight of her home except on special occasions.

"Iro? He should be in his usual spot, slumped over a counter at the Firefly," Hojo explained, jerking his head towards he door while mentioning the local pub that was known for brawls and loud men with too many worries. Iro loved that place like a second home, Sakura understood.

Sakura folded her receipt and tucked it into her coat's inside pocket before buttoning back up and nodding her thanks to Hojo. "Thanks so much, I think I'll go see him while I have time to kill." She stopped at the door and turned back with an extra bright smile. "And if it is not too much of a bother, could you keep what I said about my patients to yourself. I wouldn't want anyone coming to give me any trouble if they make mistake and suspect me for something I haven't done."

Hojo laughed and assured her that he would be making a special exception for her news, but she doubted his efforts would last much longer than a week. Even so, it was something she would have to live with. She was stupid for opening her mouth up in the first place, but it would be worth it if she could get in touch with Kakashi again. The thought made her heart skip a beat and her lips crack upwards in an unconscious grin. He hadn't been answering her letters for several weeks now and she was beginning to worry, but maybe she was just being paranoid again. Maybe things would work out for the better this time. Maybe...

Sakura stopped outside the faded wooden doors of the Firefly as her thoughts were cut short by the angry howling that radiated from the inside. It sounded like another fight. Pulling her coat tighter around her body, she pushed the front door open just enough to squeeze in unnoticed and flatten herself against the wall just in time to miss the stumbling form of a underweight visitor by a blob-like drunk who was in dire need of a shave. The passed by quickly and were largely ignored by the other customers as they both fell over themselves. Sakura caught a sight of the frizzy topknot that looked like it hadn't been cared for in years and made a break for the counter.

"Iro?" she asked, coming up and sitting next to him. He looked up with clear eyes and Sakura mentally sighed in relief to find him only slightly buzzed.

"I remember you…the doctor wench." He took another gulp form his mug before setting it down and wiping the excess from his lips and beard. The way he said wench sounded like a curse or an insult coming from him, and she suspected it probably was, seeing as how he was an old fashioned sexist pig, known for his old way of thinking. "What do you need with me?"

"I was just talking with Hojo, and he mentioned something that you'd told him." Sakura paused to see if anyone was listening, but thankfully there was more attention on the meaningless fight than on her. "Something about a fight up in the Fu hills where I live?"

"Ha, you mean the Devil's Peaks?" He slapped the table with a sneer when using to the superstitious name for the mountains where Sakura lived. "Yeah, I told him what I saw and I saw what I saw, swear to Kami I wasn't drunk! There was too much there to be making up for some sour old coot like me."

"What did you see?"

"Ninja, of course!"

"You mean shinobi from Leaf? What did these shi…these ninja look like to you. Can you remember seeing them that night?"

He gave her a look that told her he didn't like being talked to as if still a child when he was hardly buzzed and took another swing. "I remember well enough. The two in gray were wearing animal masks so I couldn't see them none, but they were chasin' another man who was as bare in the face as you or me, and he was pretty beat up. I can remember him well enough 'cause he had a mug you don't see none too often...there were scars on his cheeks...like whiskers! And he had these bright red eyes."

The world fell away from Sakura and her heart dropped. Her head started to throb and she could feel the cold of blood dripping down her nose. "Was he blonde?"

He burped loudly before nodding to her. "Blonde with more of 'em spikes than a porcupine and wearing this Kami-awful orange thing…couldn't really tell at first cause it was so muddy and blood stained though."

* * *

While they had planned on only staying out for two hours, it took longer than expected to find something for everyone in the group that matched their desired size. Zetsu had taken their measurements before leaving and had them all written down on a small piece of paper folded in the breast pocket of his borrowed coat, but even without the paper, he had everything he needed to know memorized.

They were a wide range from Tobi; slender and short to Kisame; large and brawny. Because of such variety, they were unable to find everything they needed in one or two shops. They ended up having to visit four and by the time they were through it had been three hours and forty six minutes. Not that anyone was counting.

"We still need to find a hotel. We passed by a Hung establishment between those last two shops. We should try booking there first before checking the other two," Zetsu said, unhappy with the amount of baggage they were carrying. Of course they could pay an extra fee to have everything delivered to their room if they had one, but both men were too proud for that.

Itachi just turned without a word and started walking, seemingly unburdened by his load. Anyone else wouldn't notice the change, but Zetsu had been aquatinted with Itachi long enough to pick up on the changes in the young Uchiha's moods.

Itachi was pissed.

Apparently the store clerks thought it adorable that such a handsome man was near blind and needed assistance with his purchases. Itachi insisted, more than once, that he wasn't blind, but women tend to hear only what they want to hear and went on coddling him.

It was obvious they were favoring Itachi over Zetsu, who was the one paying for everything. Now the golden-eyed male knew what Kisame felt like. The poor guy complained way too much about his odd coloring and his lack of luck with women (aside from the ones paid for their company), but everyone knew the better reason for Kisame's bad fortune was his god-like partner in terms of looks. No one would pass Itachi up in favor of another.

The two traveled some time in silence, Itachi still silently fuming on the inside. He still wasn't used to having to live without his Sharingan to guide him through everyday activities. And even worse, without chakra to send out in front of him, Itachi was unable to feel his surroundings in the same way he once could. Zetsu had to call out to him and tell him to stop because they were already in front of the hotel. Apparently Itachi had overshot the distance and missed because of his lack of sight. Zetsu hurried in, not enjoying the increases tension that came from Itachi's self anger at himself.

"We would like a room for three please, the third party will be arriving after us. She's a female with pink hair and a fair complexion. If she asks for us will you give her the third key?"

The man behind the counter nodded, handing both men separate keys to their room. "We can do that. How long do you plan on staying?"

"Only the night."

"All right then, I'll keep an eye out for her and have your bill for you in the morning."

Zetsu thanked the professional employee and turned to leave when Itachi stopped to ask a question. That was odd. "Do you have the time sir?"

"There's a clock right behind you, above the doorway."

Masking his frustration, Itachi nodded and turned to follow Zetsu without bothering to search for the clock he wouldn't be able to see. After finding their room and entering, they dropped their things along the wall and separated. Itachi seemed to find one of the three beds without problem.

"Why did you want to know the time, Itachi?" asked Zetsu.

Itachi only looked away, waiting a while before answering. "We were late coming here. Do you think she will still find us?"

"Of course she will. An extra hour is not a great deal. She's a shinobi after all," Zetsu said. "Why do you ask? Are you worried?"

"You are not?"

"Of course not. She can—"

"Not for her, for yourself. This is the first time I've ever had to depend on another human being for my survival in such a way. I don't enjoy it and find myself...apprehensive whenever disconnected."

Zetsu sighed, understanding what his partner meant. If Sakura died, they all died. She was the thread that connected them to this world and if she snapped they would all be dragged back down to a dark and dismal limbo. Not even Hidan wanted that. The guy had tried cutting himself to see if he still healed like he had before when he was immortal, but for the first time he felt pain, true, unfiltered pain from his injuries. It was an experience the religious man would not soon forget.

"We're all like that in one way or another. No one has chakra aside from her so it should be only natural to feel such. But I have faith in Sakura's ability to protect herself, if not our own selves."

"I still am not comfortable with this separation."

"No one is. I want her back just as much as you do, but for now we must wait. I am going to take a shower and with any luck, she'll be here when I get out."

Itachi closed his eyes and breathed deep, falling into a sort of peace with his surroundings. While Zetsu was surely uncomfortable with Sakura's absence, Itachi doubted the plant-man missed her in the way he did. He didn't have his sight to depend on, so that was one more thing he needed from her. He was more aware of her than any other human being, partly because of her role in bring him back to the land of the living with her own life energy, but there seemed to be other reasons connecting him to her, reasons he did not want to explore for fear of what he would find.

Somewhere in the background Itachi could hear Zetsu in the bathroom, turning the water on and moving about. Itachi refused to move from his position; he likened himself to a statue. He was still apprehensive, he was still concerned, he still worried and thought the worst, expecting it like any good shinobi should, but for now he would hide that.

He would wait for her, forcing himself to come to a place where he could trust her with her own life as well as his own.

He would wait.

.

* * *

Yes Hidan you are a dumb ass.

I told you they were going to start getting longer once the romance kicked in-or at least the attraction with those males like Itachi and Zetsu. Fuyuki happens to have it bad and I think that's okay since it is nightingale syndrome and it took so long to get to this chapter. You guys deserve some romance by this point I think.

_Just_**_ Review_**!


	10. X

_Standard disclaimer applied._

Written by Vesper chan 

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Chapter Ten

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Phlegmatic, Sakura quietly unlocked the western styled door and slipped into her shared room, not really bothering to take notice of how grand it appeared compared to their last place of resting.

Itachi perked up from where he sat on the edge of one of the three beds. Behind him, Sakura could hear the quiet hissing of the shower where Zetsu undoubtedly cleaned himself. Her head was hurting again, but not as badly as it had that morning after breakfast.

"You're back," said Itachi, his tone even and calm. Sakura couldn't detect any emotion in his words.

"I'm sorry I'm late. Were you waiting long?"

"No, not at all."

"Ah, then that's good," she sighed, picking herself up and moving to drop her things in a mess on the floor.

Her weapons pouch, coat and boots came off and were kicked against the wall. She chose the bed next to Itachi's, the middle one, and flopped down, face first. She was too tired to move much more.

"Were you able to purchase all you needed, Sakura san?"

The pink haired girl looked up out of the corner of her eye, tiredly examining Itachi's posture. He stared straight ahead at the blank wall, not even turning his face towards her. Somehow she felt a bit of pity for his situation. He was a proud guy, but that didn't change the face that he was as sightless as a bat on a new moon night.

"Yeah, I got a lot, but I think I should put the rest of the guys to work on hunting or something during the winter. They're sure to get tired of ramen after a while and we have plenty of game that high up."

"They will eat what you give them."

"Willingly? Pff, probably not, and I can bet you there will be whining involved." She thought back to Ren and Hidan and winced. "Lots of whining."

"They will eat what you give them."

It didn't seem like Itachi was up for a debate. He was right, and there was no way around his words. She got a feeling not many people disagreed with him during his time with the Akatsuki. Sakura couldn't argue, so she decided to take their conversation in a different direction.

"Ah... Did you two get everything you needed?"

"We did."

"Oh...well, that's good." She waited for him to say something in reply, but he didn't speak. He just stared out in front of him with unseeing eyes shaded and covered by bangs of midnight hanging like drapes on a window. Somehow Sakura caught herself staring at what little she could see of his face and blushed. She tore her eyes away and rolled over in bed, away from him. "When did Zetsu go in for a shower?"

"Close to an hour ago it seems. He enjoys the water more so than most because of his...unique nature."

"Plants need water." He didn't reply. "Did you have dinner?"

He shook his head.

"Do you want dinner?"

"I am not hungry."

Sakura huffed, tired of trying to be nice. If he didn't want to talk than that was fine. She wasn't too fond of him anyway. Her original thinking was something along the lines of him being something like the devil without the smile, and while that mental image had since been chased away, she still thought of him as something close to a demon. Too many memories and stories and rumors plagued her to trust him so soon.

Still, she looked over her shoulder and him and frowned while pulling back the covers. He wasn't all that bad. He was polite to her at the very least. He wasn't the most helpful guy she had ever known, but he did make an effort, small as it was, to aid her in what she was doing. He was better than Hidan at least.

She pull off her sock and sleeveless top, leaving her in her pants and undershirt. He couldn't see her lack of clothing so it wasn't a big deal for the normally conservative woman who was quick to huddle under covers and beckon sleep. She stilled, closing her eyes and forcing her heart to straighten out. She thought she was about to fall asleep when she heard Itachi move. The shower had stopped and someone was climbing around in the bathroom, getting dressed most likely.

Itachi had stood and moved around to stand in the space between her bed and his, or at least that is what it sounded like. She had her back to him so she could only peace together his movements by sound and sense. Wondering what he was doing she turned to look over her shoulder and nearly jumped out of her skin. He stood between their beds alright, a perfectly even distance from either with his face turned toward her own, staring with what seemed like endless holes in his skull. In the dim light of the room it was enough to nearly kill her. She was thankful he was blind and couldn't see the look on her face, though he probably picked up on her shock through other means.

"Itachi, is there something you need?" she asked.

"What did you hear to make you this restless?"

She blinked, thinking back to her Naruto discovery. "What do you mean, I didn't-"

"You heard something." He didn't say anything more but the stern tone he used transformed it into force with a little add on that demanded she share her information with her. And of course, you never deny an Uchiha man what he wants because by hell, he will get what he wants. She wanted to keep her secrets to her herself, but it looked like she would have to try a whole lot harder to get it past Itachi.

"It isn't something so important that you have to concern yourself with it, but there was a rumor that a friend of mine was being perused by root operates specializing in tracking. If he was caught he is probably dead by now, linage or not."

"Is this what Leaf as become?"

"You wouldn't recognize it. Under Danzo all the old ideals and morals were blotted out in the red blood of corruption. I myself would have been executed if he had the sort of control over the elders that he now has. Now he doesn't need a believable reason to exterminate the ones with opposing viewpoints."

"Banishment is a rare thing in the ninja world. How did you achieve that?"

Sakura looked up at Itachi with suspicious eyes, not exactly comfortable with the details of one of the darkest moments in her life. "I hadn't betrayed the village, only violated ethic codes on some matter or another. To keep their good name they needed to cut me loose, but my crime wasn't so terrible it deserved death. I was banished with a seal of commitment never to join another countries' military or aid them in any way against Leaf. Those contracts are as binding as any power on this earth, so I was allowed to leave with my life-something not many others could manage."

"And your development of the solider pills we came here to sell is still allowed by this contract?"

"It's a gray area. I don't know where they go, so as far as this seal goes," Sakura jabbed her forehead. "I'm keeping up my end of the deal. But that doesn't really matter anymore since that seal disappeared when you guys sucked out all my chakra. I must have died in my sleep without realizing it or something triggered the turn off."

"It would make sense."

"It would?"

Itachi nodded his head downwards slowly, possibly thinking his next words over. "Yes, many seals are nullified with the escape of a large amount of chakra; an amount large enough to kill the user. When we were revived, enough chakra to fill multiple men was lost, in turn, disabling your second seal."

"Thank you by the way. I feel so safe without my Yin seal to fall back on," Sakura joked, regretting it as soon as it left her lips. Even when laughing, _that_ wasn't something she should mention around any of them.

It was something that someone who wasn't a ninja would never understand. Cause there is honor and pride in the world still for most of those who carry the ninja name, doing something similar to what Itachi and the others had done was near taboo. If they did it with evil intent than maybe it wouldn't be this awkward, but that wasn't the case. Maybe they were devils, but they didn't want to hurt her like she thought they would. They were living off her kindness and her life force, after all, and they seemed like they wanted to help her. Either way Sakura could see the shame and anger tighten the skin around Itachi's eyes and hastened to remedy it.

"But it's not such a big deal! I don't use it much anyway. It's not like I'll miss it. You know, living like a hermit most of the time isn't all that taxing so you shouldn't feel bad."

Itachi didn't say anything, but after a moment turned and readied himself to climb into his own bed. Sakura frowned to no one, mentally slapping herself in the face. Great, now she had gone and made him angry, and right after she had been able to get him talking. At least she thought he was angry. He would probably never strike up a conversation with her again.

Zetsu came out from the bathroom fully dressed and ready for bed. On his way over to the last bed he turned the wall switch off, plunging the room into darkness. Sakura tried to fall asleep after that, but could still hear things in the room. Right before drifting off she could have sworn she heard Itachi say 'We apologize,' but then again, it was late and she was tired, so she probably only dreamed it up.

* * *

The night passed quickly enough for the three of them, but for Sakura especially. Waking up was like pulling upwards out of a vat of tree sap. Her eyes refused to stay open for long and her her limbs protested loudly with creaks and pops as she maneuvered onto her hands and knees while still under the sheets.

Blinking quickly, she rubbed her face and yawned. When she pulled her fingers away from her eyes she saw her pillow, stained darkly with blood. She touched some of it and found it old and nearly dried. Old traces of the substance caked to her skin from below her nostrils. She had another nose bleed in the middle of the night, something she hadn't experienced since landing a seat on team seven's squad.

'Stress?' she wondered. That had been the cause of it years ago. She didn't think anyone would blame her for being stressed considering her current situation. Most people would feel a bit odd about sleeping next to a cannibal and a mass murderer of his own family.

She didn't allow herself much time to dwell on it since beside her she could hear Itachi stirring. Zetsu remained immobile, still soundly asleep. How she had managed to wake up before either of them was beyond her comprehension. Quietly and quickly, she hurried to strip her pillow of its covering and turn over the stained side so no one else would notice it right away. Itachi of course wouldn't see it, but he might notice if the smell was strong, so she had to wash the pillow cover before he could get up.

The room swayed and sank all around her as she stumbled towards the bathroom. Somehow she managed to steady herself enough to reach the sink. There she dropped in the soiled fabric and watched as the newly turned on water spread the red around before sucking it down the drain. She turned to look away when she heard someone press his sheets into a rumple. Itachi was sitting up, getting out of bed with less trouble than it had taken her.

"Itachi, you don't need to..." Her eyes were too heavy to stay open and she fell to the floor, loudly hitting her knees on the ground.

He didn't say anything but she felt his sharp breathing as he rushed to her side to steady her on her knees. She swayed a bit under his large hands so he pulled her closer to his chest. "Don't try to stand, not yet."

"I'm just tired, Itachi... What are you doing awake?"

"Hm," he grunted, righting her against a wall and pulling away. "Watching out for you, apparently. When was the last time you ate?"

"The restaurant with you and Zetsu."

"If you've skipped two meals and lost as much blood as you have I wouldn't be surprised if you faint along the way."

Sakura's eyes widened. "How did you know about that?"

"I didn't, not until just now when you confirmed it, but I did smell blood, too much for a monthly cycle. What caused it?"

Only Itachi could get away with mentioning her period in such a manner and still appear dominate in the conversation. If it had been anyone else Sakura would have hit them upside the head. She had done so plenty a time before when Naruto had teased her about her t_ime of the mont_h during emotional outbursts. Sakura couldn't manage to imagine smacking Itachi upside the head for talking about her girly issues. It seemed too dangerous an adventure.

"It's nothing, only a nose bleed. I was hoping you wouldn't notice."

"That heavy?" He wasn't looking at her when he asked, but stared at the wall behind her like a blind person would.

Sakura ran a moist hand through her hair, pushing it out of her eyes. "You are just extra sensitive to things like smell. It wasn't a heavy nose bleed, just a small one caused by stress."

She saw his eyebrows furrow. "We are... stressing you?"

"Not you per say. I mean, I'm not all kitten and roses about the whole situation concerning you and the others, but that's not my main worry at the moment. I told you about my friend last night and I can't stop thinking about him. Aside from that I haven't heard from others who I expected to keep in touch with. This moth has been...amazingly difficult for me." Sakura laughed weakly to herself. "In fact, if the lot of you hadn't shown up I would have worried myself to death about the well being of certain people. Thank kami for small mercies, huh?"

Itachi didn't say anything, but eventually reached out to touch her elbow. He held his fingers to her skin for a while before speaking. "Are you steady enough to stand, yet?"

She sighed, chastising herself for appearing before someone in such a pitiful manner. "I'm fine. I can get up on my own. Maybe you should rouse Zetsu." She pulled herself away and climbed to her feet by her own power. For whatever reason she refused to look at Itachi after pulling out of his touch. "I would like to leave as soon as possible."

"Of course." The way he said it suggested there was something else he wanted to ask or tell her. She should have just ignored it and pushed on, but acting out of character she ran her hands through her hair and asked.

"Is there something else, Itachi?"

His face turned towards her voice, searching through the blur that made up his vision for her eyes. He stared into her and for a moment Sakura forgot he was blind. He made the effort to look at her when he talked. "Do you typically loose chakra when you have nose bleeds?"

"Huh? I don't, not that I can recall. Why?"

He turned his face away from her and moved to the end of the bed where his things rested. "You should eat before we leave." And that was all.

She shouldn't have given it much thought, it was probably just Itachi thinking of the future and what troubles would arise if one companion fell behind due to poor health choices, but she couldn't shake the feeling of concern, and that got under her skin. He wouldn't care about her any more than he had to, he just wouldn't, and she would do well to remember that. Entertaining the notion that he might actually/possible/if only a little bit, care for her was not in her nature. What was she becoming?

Closing her eyes she gave herself a mental checkup, scanning chakra reserves and sugar levels and what not. Itachi had been right about the eating, so she popped a specially crafted solider pill from her bag and ate a rice patty from yesterday. It wasn't the tastiest thing in the world, but it had a lot of injected vitamins in it so she forced it down. It felt like sandpaper on her tongue when she got to the center of it and nearly gagged out loud.

"**Hehe, you could have just waited till we found a restaurant to stop at**." Zetsu laughed from his bed. He was staring at her with a face splitting grin of jagged teeth, and glowing yellow orbs for eyes. There were no pupils to pinpoint, so it felt like he was looking at all of her at once as well as eye to eye at the same time. Freaky man/men indeed.

"It's kind of early for that, don't you think?" Sakura asked, swallowing the rest. Indeed it was still dark out, but just barely.

"**Not if you know where to go. There are plenty of 24 hour places for ninja and travelers. You have to admit, most anything would be preferable to what you just ate. You should have seen your face, it was f-ing hilarious! So much fun to wake up to**."

"Has anyone ever told you, Zetsu, that you're a whizz a pillow talk. What woman wouldn't want to wake up to that in the morning?"

'The one without her head,' she thought silently.

He seemed thoughtful in his answer, actually thinking it over before speaking, "**I wouldn't know. I've never entertained one with life long enough to discover**."

Itachi dropped his pack on the bed with a muffled thud, meaning to sound as loud as possible with his work. From the looks of it, he appeared ready for departure. His coat was on and every button done up except the two closest to his neck. He probably left it like that so he could reach in real quick and pull weapons out if the need arose.

"You should arm yourself before leaving, Zetsu."

"You believe we will encounter hostilities?" The lighter side had taken over for this conversation, but it still seemed to carry some black sided snap in every word. How odd.

"It never does any harm to be prepared, but even if I do no believe, I would not want to be a burden on the only one who can use chakra here."

The two exchanged looks and it felt like they were having a conversation only Sakura couldn't enter. Once Itachi mentioned her something seemed to click between them. Maybe it was a pride thing that had everything to do with neither of them being as powerful as they once were. Sakura would imagine it being humiliating to suffer so great a loss in front of someone they had to rely on from then on.

"I'll be ready in a minute," Sakura interrupted, turning her back on both of them to collect her things and slip her outer shirt on. She had forgotten in light of the blood mess that she had been walking around in only her undershirt. At least Itachi couldn't see, right?

She heard Zetsu sigh and move behind her, picking up things and dropping them into his bags. There was the familiar snap of a strings on a drawstring bag being pulled and then the shuffling of shoes across floor. Zetsu walked in front of her to stand by the door where his coat had been abandoned. Sakura looked up after finishing the straps on her weapon pouch and followed him to where her coat was stuff under all the others.

The bi colored male was out the door first with Sakura close behind, slowing down so Itachi wasn't left too far behind. She didn't want to seem pitying, but it was obvious to her how much his lack of sight was affecting him. Without his mangekyou sharingan to act like glasses, everything was too dim to discern no doubt. It Itachi noticed her slow down for him or knew why she did it he didn't complain or draw attention to it. His face was how it always was; unchanging.

Zetsu left the keys an change at the desk, noticing that there was no one present. Someone was probably up watching them, but they won't stir unless they tried to leave without paying. That's the way things were run regardless of where you were. Ninja existed everywhere.

"Oh god, so chilly," Sakura breathed, once the outside air hit her.

The darker side of Zetsu chuckled only to choke as the other half of the face pulled against his movements. He mumbled something like 'your one to talk' to himself before pressing forward with his head bowed. It wasn't long before sakura noticed how he shivered in the late autumn/early winter temperatures.

Behind her Sakura felt Itachi pick his pace up and had to struggle to stay ahead of him. He passed her and Zetsu in one moment and continued moving forward.

"**What's the rush**?" Zetsu barked, more annoyed than curious.

"The faster you move the sooner we will be there. At least try to build body heat, Zetsu san."

"**You sure you know where you're going, Uchiha**?"

Itachi just 'hn'ed and kept walking forward, eyes unblinking and clear like black glass. It seemed the two were more confrontational than they had been when coming down. What caused that was something Sakura couldn't quite understand.

Their hotel had been deep in the town, closer to the rest of Iwa civilization rather than the mountains where Sakura hid out, so it took a bit longer to reach the end. By the time there were passing the last few houses and stores the owners were coming out with their signs and outdoor tables. The sun was up by this point.

Sakura felt frozen dew drops on the blades of grass that were crushed underfoot and was reminded of how cold it could get the higher they climbed. Snow would be coming soon and if they were caught in it coming down it wouldn't be any good for walking. It was faster running down the terrain side than climbing up it, but only slightly because of the trees and tangle that could really mess you up if you ran into them at any high speed.

Looking up, the pink haired woman saw dark smudges of clouds choking out the sky and sun. Spurred on by the possibility of getting caught in what was a very possible snowstorm, Sakura increased her speed without the aid of chakra. Her pills were working wonderfully so she was on full by now, but neither of her companions could keep up with her if she used chakra over long distances. In three hours the town they had left behind was merely a fist sized clump of brown down in the distance.

That was when Zetsu stopped.

"Did you feel that?" he asked, sounding serious.

"Feel what?" Sakura asked. She waited, stopped as well, but could feel nothing. "What should I be feeling?"

Itachi seemed tense, having felt it as well.

Zetsu only turned to look towards the town and pointed to a small mushroom like cloud from the outskirts closest to where Sakura's home was located. "Someone was using explosions."

"What? Are they headed this way?" Sakura asked.

"They'll overtake us in a few hours if we don't push it," Itachi cut in, turning and walking off, waiting for the others to follow.

Zetsu grunted in agreement, turning as well to start running. "It's best if we try to avoid them regardless of who they are or what they want. Sakura are there any other residents up in the mountains they could be headed towards?"

"Yeah, there are one or two other places, but I don't know if any of them are in use this late in the season. Hey-uh what?" Zetsu had grabbed Skura's wrist and pulled her forward, swinging her in front of him while running. "What are you doing?"

"Fuyuki has chakra and can fight. You need to run ahead and bring him to us. We'll keep heading in the direction of your cabin but you'll need to not let us hold you back."

"But you two-"

"For all you know it could be Leaf ANBU." Itachi added, still running and looking ahead as if he were not blind. "Regardless, your protection is top priority. We have not forgotten what would happen to us if you should die."

"Itachi you-"

This time it was the Uchiha to grab her and yank her forward. His face turned towards her own and Sakura would have sworn in that moment that he could see her as perfectly as any other man. His features were sharp and his eyes narrowed with annoyance and determination. There was no arguing with him when he looked like that. He could have been a fallen angel in all his frightful beauty. "You. Will. Go. Now."

This time Sakura didn't try to protest. She jerked forward and felt the lead ease out of her legs as chakra was pumped into her tendons and toes. Her speed doubled and than tripled, leaving the two other Akatsuki members in her dust.

.

* * *

Hi...

I missed you guys.

I just noticed I haven't been adding lyrics to each chapter. Forgot about that...oh well, it's not important. Heh...Itachi is melting my heart a little bit each time. He's not the type to fall in love right away, but depending on Sakura as much as he does he is bound to care for her, don't you think? I like writing him but I'm looking forward to the guy who will show up in the next chapter and the other males who will came back. Deidara needs some attention and poor Hidan is like...non existent, poor sap.

I'm sorry this took so long to update, but like I said, I have work now and school. It's crazy as hell since I'm going somewhere 7 days a week. Every morning I wake up early and go somewhere so my spirit is in terrible shape for creative writing. I'm actually surprised I could get this much done. I hope you all liked it somewhat.

_Just_**_ Review_**!


	11. XI

_Standard disclaimer applied._

Written by Vesper chan

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

.

To get down from her home to the village it had taken the trio half a day plus the night with many rest stops and a breaks. They were not in too much of a hurry so they took their time getting to where they needed to be. If Sakura was pushed herself with all the chakra she had, she could be down from her house to the village in three to four hours. Only once had she done that and her body had been so much of a mess when she arrived she wasn't much help during the emergency until she took her pills and rested for five minutes.

But her Yin seal was gone and she didn't have that back up to dig into when she needed it.

Regardless, the possibility that those heading up the mountain side were ANBU- the ones who had been spotted trailing Naruto- was enough to dig deep into her reserves. She had three pills left she could swallow to quickly replenish her chakra at the risk of heart failure.

Snow was falling in sheets, light at first but growing steadily heaver the further she traveled. She was heading into the storm and it was taking a toll on her body. Her nose and fingers felt bitten and she knew without having to look, that they were red.

"Come on Sakura, push it!" she gasped,tearing up from the impact of wind and snow hitting her face.

Her house wouldn't be far now. A few more minutes and she would be able to see it. The outline came first, and then there was color to the speck in the distance. She was gaining ground fast so it wouldn't be long before she could call out to Fuyuki for help. He would hear her screaming form outside wouldn't he. He was after all-

Sakura's thoughts were cut short as her reflexes won over, forcing her to flip over to one side in order to narrowly avoid the thin projectile aimed for her heart.

Senbon!

"So close too..."

Sakura's eyes jerked up scanning the snow for a figure but could find none. Another needle zipped through the air and caught a single stand of her hair as she moved just in time once more. She saw where it came from this time and caught the outline of her attacker.

"Who are you?" She asked, pulling out a kuni from behind her back, getting ready to fight in the new fallen snow.

"You didn't think you would be able to stay safe for the rest of your life did you, Haruno Sakura?" the male voice asked while stepping forward. He was dressed all in white with a half face mask. The Leaf headband was tied loosely around his neck.

He continued talking. "Especially when you are a traitor to your village!"

He lunged and she caught his blade against her own while swiping out with her free fist. He reeled and managed to dodge but lost balance long enough for Sakura to grab hold and slam him into the ground. A cloud of white smoke revealed a substation log.

She jumped back, searching for his real body. At times like this you needed an edge over your enemy...something that would throw them off, a distraction.

"You shouldn't have any beef with me. I've taken my dues and done as you asked. I left your stupid village and kept my terms."

"Do you think we care?"

Sakura cursed, feeling sick in her gut. "You should if you had any honor."

"You're old, woman. Those days are dead and gone. Get with the times and just die!"

Sakura expected only one-but a dozen senbon were in the air, shadowed by another half dozen. Caught off guard she blocked what she could and fell away, off balance in order to save herself from poisoning. He was behind her and in front of her at the same time...no there were two of them.

She fought, but she was tired and helplessly unprepared. Exhausted, low on chakra, and outnumbered three to one now. Her friend had back up it would seem.

Sacrificing a shallow cut to her shoulder she landed her blade in the neck of the tallest member, hitting deep into his spine and killing him instantly. Her chakra went to notarizing the poison and that should be enough because it was such low quality any genin could disinfect it with her eyes closed. But she didn't have much chakra left and taking any more made her dizzy.

No! she mentally screamed seeing her own mistakes in her footwork, the clumsy handling of her weapons, as well as her miscalculation in aim. Her head was spinning and she felt frightened. There were still two left at they were both jonin at least. One of them was in front of her the next thing she knew, pushing her to the ground with something sticking out of her chest.

Snow flew upwards all around her and landed stained red with her blood. She could taste it seeping in and staining her tongue and lips.

These guys were _good_.

"How did you know?" she coughed, feeling her blood seep freely from her new wound.

"Coincidence really. We were trailing the kyubi brat up here and it just so happened he somehow found a lead on you. After taking him in we thought it would be a shame to let such information go to wast, right?"

"What did you do with Naruto!" It was a demand, not a question.

Her enemy didn't seem keen on answering her questions. Instead he rolled on with his previous explanation, not bothering with what she wanted to know. " After all, it's common knowledge that Danzo sama despised the blond slug woman more than anyone else. He'll be quite pleased to hear we were able to slay her little chick as well. We went into town and trailed you till you were too far away to be noticed."

"The explosions...then...?" Everything was throbbing in and out of her vision now. She needed one of her pills pronto or else she wouldn't be waking up from her 'nap.' She needed to keep them distracted as well as gather information.

"Yeah, that was us leaving a present for your friends. We thought you would take off on them since they didn't have chakra signatures and were probably just villagers."

Interesting, so they didn't recognize Itachi or Zetsu. Figures, both of them seem too young to remember the faces of dead criminals. Sakura looked up at the young man-(no boy was more like it)-at the boy above her and felt sick. His face was covered but his brown eyes were exposed and they looked so young to her. Is this what Leaf had become?

The boy atop her must have taken her gazing a different way since he bent down, straddling her, and took her face into his turned it one way then the other, his expression softening.

"It's a shame we have to kill you, though. You are such a beautifle woman. I wouldn't have minded keeping you alive all for myself."

Sakura saw the kuni rise in his hands and closed her eyes, hearing the flesh ripping and blood spilling less than a second later. The man atop her screamed bloody murder and something heavy fell beside him. When Sakura looked up the other white Leaf ninja was dead while the one sitting atop her had a thin wire cutting through his hand, keeping it suspended over Sakura.

Ninja wire? Where...? Sakura thought, tilting her head backwards to see what was behind her. Something tall was coming down towards her, appearing upsidown in her sight. He looked to be dressed in all black with hair curled and crinkled messily down below his shoulders in blazing red. With pale china skin he was a stunning sight set against the snow.

He was unearthly.

The black dressed man frowned, tugging on the wire a bit more, wrapping four new strands around the boy in order to pull him up into the air off of Sakura. "As much as I would like to agree with you on your appreciation of beauty I am afraid I cannot allow you to exist any longer."

Something other than the cold snow stained wind spiked through Sakura's body, giving her chills. The red haired man gave a chilling smile before narrowing his eyes and pulling back tightly. There was a ragged scream and them blood was everywhere, staining the snow and parts of Sakura.

Free at last she reached for her pills, popping two different ones in with her good hand before trying to get up. The wound in her chest was bad, digging deep into her lung. She doubted she would have enough chakra to heal it if the pill didn't start working soon. Hearing her gasp, the redhead came up behind her and dropped to his knees, reaching out to cradle her with his arms. He pulled her closer to himself and slid the black cloak off his shoulder to wrap around her.

"Hush, the bleeding must but be staunched. You will heal."

Her vision was black and blurry, but even so there was no way Sakura would not recognize his face.

"I know you," she huffed, having trouble breathing. "You are..."

"Hush," he commanded in a whisper placing a finger to her lips. She could feel his knuckles moved up and down the side of her face the way a mother would with her child. His hands were pleasantly warm. "I will take you back now."

There was blood leaking from her nostrils and a monster headache coming on, but she fought to stay focused. She had to stay awake! The black was swallowing everything and she was soon in total darkness, but before she passed out she whispered the name of her well known rescuer and one time enemy. "Sasori..."

.

(How many years ago?)

.

His touches tickled more than they should have. He knew her and her body too well by now. All he had to do was breath in the right place over her exposed skin and she could be in stitches. His presence made he just that bubbly. No one else could bring this side out of her. She wasn't allowed to have it as a ninja, after all, but for him she could let her walls fall down a bit.

After all, they were finally alone after days and weeks and hours of pretending to be professional friends in front of others. The way things were at the moment in the political realm it wasn't to their advantage to be public about the marriage with anyone other than a few close friends.

But that was okay, cause they had plans. They would run away together and find a little place somewhere far away from the robs and regulations of pomp and power. They would find a little place just for themselves and live happily ever after. Kakashi had friends who owed him favors and he had no better reason to use those favors than the pink haired woman curled up against his side. He traced her face once more slipping behind to brush her neck and she stiffened, biting her bottom lip.

"Kakashi," she breathed in delight. "I'm sleepy, don't do that."

He pulled his fingertips away from her neck and let them fall around her shoulders, pulling her close. "Mmm," he mumbled, still quite tired. "Too easy to tease."

She cracked open an eye. "If you are already awake than make me some breakfast. I'm hungry and eating for two you know."

"Can't."

She made a face and he grinned, enjoying the sight. Sunlight was streaming in from the long thin window that stretched out above the headboard of the bed of fluffy sheets and dented features seemed even softer and cuter under the golden light. She could have been an angel for all he knew. Heck, she probably was considering what could pass as human in this day and age. Yeah, she was without a doubt, certainly an angel.

She yawned like a cat. "You can't? Oh...and why is that, dearest?"

"I'll get lost trying to find the kitchen."

"This is your house."

"Never could figure it out."

"Stupid."

"Would you have me any other way?" His eyes twinkled with delight as he watched her reactions. She just rolled her eyes at him, used to the banter after so many years.

"What a lazy husband," she huffed giving up. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply into the pillow bent and wrinkled perfectly around her head from so many nights of personalization. It was her pillow in his bed, smelling of sandalwood and night. That was his scent.

He chuckled, moving onto his side better so he could look over her better. Her hair was a mess but that seemed to make her appear all the more attractive. Kakashi always thought his wife looked best in the morning when she was still somewhat out of it, reluctant to leave the warmth of her sheets. She didn't believe him for reasons he couldn't imagine. She was amazing.

He reached out and brushed his hand over her hair, petting her much like he would a cat. She mumbled something encouraging into her pillow, enjoying the warmth of his soft touches and he smiled wide, almost giddy with how this reality belonged to him. It wasn't a dream, she was really his and he was hers.

"A lucky lazy husband," he whispered before bending down to kiss the line of her cheekbone. This was his life, this was perfection, and he would keep it till the end of eternity.

.

(Present day)

.

Fuyuki stood in the living room breathing unevenly as he bent over the sink. His knuckles and face were bloody from the body he had cut open only hours ago. His chest was bare, the stained shirt having been discarded upon his entry. He hoped Sakura could wash it for him, he didn't want her to go on buying more clothes for him. He didn't want to be a burden to her.

Sakura.

The memories came rushing back and he had to turn the water on full force to drown them out. Pooled between his cupped hands he lifted the water to his face and doused himself, once, twice, thrice, still not enough! It was no good. The images were burned into his head now.

He had gone out first, while Kakuzu was still working on something he probably shouldn't have, to meet those other two members down the slope's side. Itachi and Zetsu were not terribly hurt when he caught up to them but it was assured that they would have died had he not been there to help with his chakra. There were two of them, blond men without pupil or iris in their eyes. They moved oddly and had no concept of pain he or anyone else could see.

They were like zombies.

After their death, Zetus looked one over and said they would need to bring them back for Sakura and Kakuzu to look at. Something had been done to them, apparently. Fuyuki didn't care. None of that mattered because Sakura wasn't with Zetsu or Itachi. Kakuzu had said she would be with them, he said he knew for sure, but she wasn't! Of course that was the first thing he asked either male but both told him the same thing. Sakura had gone on ahead of them and should be close to the house by now.

Fuyuki left them alone and sped off with his chakra only to come too late. The new guy, the one with long hair and cinnamon colored eyes was carrying her in. She was folded between his arms and limp with skin lacking signs of life. Everything she wore was doused with blood. He prayed it wasn't her own but he could see it still coming from her nose and mouth from internal injuries no doubt.

Those fuckers had abandoned her! She gives up her energy and chakra to bring those lousy good for nothing shit heads back and this is how they treat her? They should have never been trusted with her company to begin with. If they were so useless why did they bother going with her in the first place? He should have been asked to accompany her.

Fuyuki gripped the edges of the sink and breathed heavily through his nostrils before looking up at the mirror through long wet stands of snow colored hair. There were splatters of blood smeared in patches. His body was burning in spite of the low temperatures and his lack of clothing. He was enraged.

He grabbed something soft from the rack and wiped his face with it before dropping it onto the faucet head. With action more rigid and jerkier than he wanted them to be he swung open the door into the living room and marched out, only to stop five feet from the door still swing shut.

Most of the males living with Sakura were all gathered in this one main room, sitting standing or leaning against a wall. The only two missing were the red head and stitches.

No surprise there.

"What did they do with Sakura?" Fuyuki asked without addressing any one person. He didn't care who answered him.

Kisame was the one who answered him. "Sasori and Kakuzu took her down into her lab where they're preforming surgery now."

"Without chakra? How the hell do they think they're going to do that?"

"The same way civilians have been doing it for centuries," Zetsu testily snapped.

"Is it really that bad?" Tobi asked aloud. Fuyuki wanted to punch the little brat in the face.

Ren sneered from his spot, leaning against the wall. "She'll be fine, just stop worrying so much. If she were to die she would have done it already. The redhead already said it himself, didn't he. It was just chakra exhaustion. Quit worrying like a bunch of pussies."

"Why are you even out here then, un?"

"Shut up tinker bell. There a crime against being bored?"

"If you're so bored you could help with the clean ups, brat."

"Fag."

Deidara ended the conversation with a well aimed kick to Ren's poor kneecaps.

Hidan just rolled his eyes, turned and left. Kisame watched the religion crazed male leave and turned to leave himself, but before he did he spared a look at his former partner then offered up some words for Fuyuki and anyone else who seemed worried. "Kakuzu is brilliant with these sort of things. He'll make sure she comes out fine, and it's like how Ren said, just chakra exhaustion."

Itachi sat on the edge of one of the couches facing away from all the others. His dirty bloodstained coat had been left on the floor by the door and his original cloak from the organization hung over his shoulders, familiar as he held his own hands with ice white knuckles. He held them so tightly the shook slightly from the intensity. He dared not open his eyes, but instead kept the shut as he did something he hadn't done in a long, long time.

Uchiha Itachi prayed for the recovery of someone else.

Eventually they drifted off to their sleeping quarters and slept. Sasori and Kakuzu came out the next day and said all she needed was some more sleep and plenty of rest because her chakra was recovering fast enough to heal the injuries. They wouldn't say anything more but set up a surveillance team in case another attack. No one was allowed to disturbe Sakura but after too much fighting Kakuzu finally gave in and said he didn't care if Fuyuki visited her or waited at her bedside so long as he didn't screw up their work.

Of course Fuyuki had to sleep himself, so when his shift ended one of the other males would watch over her. Itachi, Sasori, and Deidara seemed to most eager to volunteer their time. Even Tobi wanted to do it.

Sakura slept for eight days straight.

She woke nine days later.

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I think this is the longest I've ever gone without an update in my account. Before you decide to start writing about how utterly awful I am for not keeping up with this site I'll just go ahead and say that a member of my immediate family is sick to the point where she had to be taken away from us. Our house is like a funeral parlor and it is hard to keep it together on top of school and job loss and everything else that is happening. I'll stop my bitching here before I go on anymore cause I know if I wanted to I could whine and complain till the cows come home.

Please enjoy the chapter.

Vesper chan


	12. XII

_Standard disclaimer applied._

Written by Vesper chan

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**Chapter**

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ReCaP

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Eventually they drifted off to their sleeping quarters and slept. Sasori and Kakuzu came out the next day and said all she needed was some more sleep and plenty of rest because her chakra was recovering fast enough to heal the injuries. They wouldn't say anything more but set up a surveillance team in case another attack. No one was allowed to disturbe Sakura but after too much fighting Kakuzu finally gave in and said he didn't care if Fuyuki visited her or waited at her bedside so long as he didn't screw up their work.

Of course Fuyuki had to sleep himself, so when his shift ended one of the other males would watch over her. Itachi, Sasori, and Deidara seemed to most eager to volunteer their time. Even Tobi wanted to do it. The others were fine with ignoring that duty or passing it over.

Sakura slept for eight days straight.

She woke nine days later.

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The moment she tried to move she wished she didn't.

Her body was sore all over and deathly stiff. The cot she had been sleeping on was standard issue, but not the most pleasant thing in the world to go more than a day on. Too bad for her, she had spent nine days on it, give or take a few hours. She tried moving her fingers first, and when that seemed okay, she flexed her wrist. The insides of her arms were sore, but she wasn't the kind of person to let that stop her. She had stuff to do and people to help. There was also the issue of mail, she was going to have to-

"Shit! What the hell do you want me to do, I don't know how to fucking cook!"

"What do you think I am, a culinary protégé, un?"

"You look like a woman,you should be able to fucking cook like one."

"What the hell kind of logic is that?"

"I don't fucking wanna cook, damn it!"

There was more crashing and banging and Sakura groaned recognizing the sound of her pots on tile. When she got up there it would be a huge mess, and everyone would be pissed at everyone else. That was _just_ what she wanted to wake up to.

She closed her eyes and tried to think back to what was going on. She didn't feel very afraid of the Akatsukie members in her home, and that made her question her sense of intuition, or it would have if she hadn't remembered the rest of her situation. She had found the Pein body in the rain and unintentionally brought back all the dead members of the once notorious organization.

'_Even_ _Sasori_!'

He hadn't been with the others, but she could guess as to why that was, as well as how he had finally come about. It was sort of silly to think about it now, but Sakura had salvaged the pierced heart of the ill fated puppeteer form Suna. Lifeless and useless, she preserved it with care to both study and admire. It was more of a trophy than anything else, but there were some aspects of it she had been interested in at one point.

She braced herself and tried to sit up. It felt like lifting weights with her chest, but it wasn't bad enough that she couldn't push herself. However, it was a lot more painful than she expected it to be.

She looked down and saw her clothing was minimal. Her shirt had been sewn back together quite awkwardly with thick black cord, and underneath it, she saw the faint scars of a chakra-less surgery. No wonder she was so sore. she whistled low in awe at her luck. She knew the chances of a hurt person coming off the battle field, as well as a chakra-less surgery, was slim at best. The chances were even slimmer when you're being operated on by people who once wanted to kill you.

"I guess there isn't any point in not trusting them now. They saved my life," she mused aloud.

'But isn't that only because they would have died without you?'

More banging from upstairs cut her thoughts short, thankfully. She was still too tired and sore to be thinking about the deeper meanings to why those men did what they did and what it had to do with her.

She pulled her shirt and it fell in ribbons around her feet. Mostly naked, she pulled out a oversized tee-shirt from her emergency stash, and slipped into that. It took her three times as long to get her arms through the sleeves, and when she did she had tears caught in her lashes. And on top of that, she was still cold. The blanket form her cot was all she had, so she wrapped that around herself and made her way over to the stairs. One by one she climbed till finally she was at the top where the noises were so much louder.

"Shit, I don't want soup again."

"Shut up, you'll eat it if I make it! I don't see you doing anything to help."

"Oh God, stop bitching, Hidan. At least it's something, un."

Sakura peeked out to see Hidan, Deidara and Fuyuki in the kitchen, with the former Pein body being the one who was filling up a pot with water. Hidan just slouched around and Deidara sat on the counter, watching with what looked like a cook book in his hands. None of the other members were around or anywhere to be seen.

"Kisame said he would bring back some meat, so you'll both be fine. It's not raman anymore, at least," Fuyuki huffed, lifting the pot out of the sink and onto the stove, turning it on.

Hidan cursed again and started to complain about how he wanted plain meat without the water with his usual language, making Sakura's head throb. It wasn't an unusual thing to hear men in her profession curse, it was actually more surprising to find a guy who didn't, (they were soldiers,) but he just took it too far. Sakura cursed a pretty word every now and then, but she wasn't constantly at it. The past month had been an exception with all the stress. She thought she had a right to blow off some steam at least.

"It's good to see you're up again," a new voice commented from behind her.

Sakura jerked in surprise and fell on her but, loosing the support of the wall. Behind her stood Sasori, and a little farther back, Ren.

Hearing the commotion, the men in the kitchen looked up and saw for themselves what Sasori was talking about. Fuyuki was the first to drop what he was doing and rush to her side to help her up.

"Sakura," he breathed, holding her around the arms in almost disbelief. "Sakura, you're awake. Are you alright?"

She shook her head. "Sorry, what...?"

Sasori frowned and reached forward to touch her but was stopped by a glare from Fuyuki. He almost smirked, but Sasori didn't smirk at things like that. "Get her on the couch. Deidara, get a glass of water, room temperature if you can."

"Come on," Fuyuki whispered, pulling her towards his chest and lifting her with ease. She had lost enough weight form so many days of not eating that it was a little scary. He helped her into her seat and sat down next to her. "You've been out for eight-no, nine days. We thought you might not wake up."

"Nine days," she mumble mumbled to herself. "What happen while I was asleep?"

"Nothing worth mentioning," he replied, still holding her around the shoulders. "Are you still cold?"

"A bit." She looked up and glanced around, seeing Hidan, Ren, and Sasori still close by. "Where are the others? Did something happen to them or are they hanging around?"

"You can ask about that later. Kisame, Zetsu, and Kakuzu are out hunting, Itachi is in a room by himself and I don't know where Tobi is," Sasori answered, watching as Deidara returned with the glass of water Sakura needed.

She looked up at the blond artists and saw a stiff form of worry in his movements. "Thank you," she whispered, trying to wrap her fingers around the glass. She was having trouble holding it so Deidara tipped to to her lips for her, letting her take a sip or two before pulling it away. She mumbled an apology and blushed lightly.

Licking her lips she looked up at Sasori who had taken a seat across from her, lounging as casually as if he were in his own home. "You wanted to hear about the Leaf ninja or something else?" he asked.

"Please, start with them."

The red head nodded. "Well, we didn't leave any alive, but I'm sure that's what you didn't want to hear. I'm sorry, but sending out individuals with no chakra to trail kids like those in hopes of finding your friend..." he paused to gauge her expression. "Well, it wouldn't have been wise, and nothing would have come from it. I'm sorry."

Sakura closed her eyes and thought of Naruto, feeling the pain of loss all over her body once again. "Did you hear anything about where he might have...?"

"No, we didn't. Nor should we have expected to."

Sakura stared at him for a moment, narrowing her eyes. "How long have you been walking around. I'll assume you assembled yourself while I was awake since you were well enough to defend yourself when you first showed up."

"My heart came back to life the same moment the rest of the members were revived, I just didn't have a body. That was provided for thanks to Kakuzu and yourself." Sasori held out a hand and pulled back the sleeve to show off his wrist. There were no obvious puppet joints, and the more he moved it the more Sakura saw it to be real flesh.

With new eyes she looked up and studied her one time enemy. He had the same face, only slightly altered with a hint of growth here and there. His hair was certainly longer, brushing past his shoulders in obedient waves and crinkles that Sakura felt like envying. He was taller than she remembered as well. Before, he had only possessed the body of a sixteen year old boy, but now he was a man who could carry her in his arms without issue. Broad shoulders and a well shaped chest showed through the fabric of his long-sleeved shirt.

He was different, but he was still the same.

"Is that a real body?" she asked.

"It only took two days to grow. I'm sorry if you experienced any discomfort due to the strain my revival might have put on your body. I was one of the first members added to the list so my retrieval method was still in the planning stages when penned down. I had to draw chakra from you additionaly to complete the growth."

So that's where the nose bleds were coming from. "Impressive."

Sasori smirked this time, and it was so much like the look he had given her during their first and last fight. "Thank you, I'd like to think so too."

The younng woman looked down at her own hands and the marks along her arms from their fight. And while she didn't lift of her shirt to glance at the wounds all down her chest and stomach, she remembered the markings there all the same. "I'm even more surprised to know you were able too keep me alive after only just being formed. With such a body I can't imagine you were completely comfortable in it."

"No, in fact, I was very comfortable. I had been awake and conscious without a form for a while, so it felt like the most natural thing to move about once agin. Your operation was... interesting, but nothing we couldn't handle."

"You sound sure of yourself."

"Shouldn't I be?"

Sakura nodded and turned to Fuyuki, who was still holding her. "Have we had any visitors, or was it uneventful while I was asleep?"

The white haired man smiled at her, but shook his head. "Only the delivery Ox, and that was a while ago. We've been trying to stay away from any of the good food hat required preparation so you wouldn't miss out. Some complained a bit, but most were in agreement it was only fair to wait."

Sakura made a face at the thought of food. She was empty, but the thought of eating made her stomach do flips. "I don't feel like having anything."

Sasori frowned. "You shouldn't be feeling like that. You need to nurse yourself with something light. We'll be having soup tonight for you, but I don't want you eating the meat yet."

Sakura couldn't help but laugh with mirth. "I'm the doctor here, I thought. I know what I should be doing, you don't have to tell me."

The red heard smirked some more before standing. "Of course then, please, do as you see fit. I will be attending to the green house Zetsu found during your conscious absence if you need anything more."

"I think I'll survive," Sakura mumbled leaning back into the couch while Sasori got up to leave.

In his absence the figure of a man hiding behind him came into focus for her. Ren caught her looking and sneered a bit, but didn't leave. That was probably an improvement. Before she had come back, he would have left the room with a scowl to mind his own business, now at least he stuck around to see if she was okay. Or maybe he was just bored. Either way, it was a change from before.

"You said you were making soup, Fuyuki. Do you need help finding anything?"

He chuckled. "No, I think we all know where everything in your house is at this point. It's not very big when you have so many men in it and we were all really bored. It's not like there is all that much for us to do here."

She could only close her eyes and try to forget the idea that her house might have things in it she didn't want a bunch of strange guys going through. Photo albums, yearbooks, diaries-kami _no_-underwear drawers...the list went on. She didn't even dare to hope her supply of sake was still intact.

"When you're done, could you make me a bowl, please," she said, closing her eyes and leaning her head back. Her neck, all the way down her spine to her hips, felt like it had been pulled and burned and was only now just recovering. Nine days should have been more than enough for her, but it wasn't because of the lack of chakra.

"Of course, Sakura," he answered, pulling his arm away. "I can make some broth now and give it to you before they add the meat. Wait just a moment." He left her side and passed Deidara without a backwards glance, hurrying to get Sakura what she wanted.

Out of the other man's earshot, Sakura saw Ren shake his head and frown. "Freak would have gladly killed over for you, it's so sick. I can't take any more of it."

"Hey, just shut up, un," Deidara interjected, coming up to stand between Sakura and Ren. "Some of us don't mind being human every once and a while, esspecially when we own someone. Stop trying to make it into something it's not."

Ren shook his head with a half laugh, mimicking the blond. "Some of us don't mind being human-what bull! I'll call it when I see it and that freak has got some attachment issues." Ren looked down at Sakura, making sure she heard him before turning away and leaving the room.

Deidara rubbed the back of his head and turned back around to look at Sakura. "Don't let what that dick said get to you. He's just sort of PMSing right now. He's been like that the whole time you were gone, picking on everyone and making trouble." For some reason Deidara felt obliged to interject and keep Sakura from thinking that Fuyuki had any feelings for her that passed beyond simply friendship and duty. It wasn't because he knew she had been married (or was still). But for reasons he just couldn't explain, he didn't want her to know about another man's feelings for her.

"The whole time?" Sakura asked, tilting her head to the side and staring off to where Ren had left.

"Yeah, well he was always the most harsh on Pei-I mean Fuyuki. Whatever. I think he's just being young if you ask me. He looks like a kid you know?" Deidara looked back down the hall at what she was staring at and then back at her. "I hope you're at least feeling a little better."

"Hmmm, try asking me again in a few days. My chakra stores are up again, so I'll be able to patch up what was left over, but I'm still so tired. I don't think I can look forward to a lot of peace and quiet, can I?"

The blond artists made a face. "Sorry, un. We're all a little stir crazy and tend to get in each other's faces a lot. But with you awake I think some of the stress will ease up."

Sakura blinked. "Stress?"

Deidara almost blushed and rubbed the back of his head again. "Um yeah, well, you know...we...when you first got back it looked real bad and we didn't know if you were going to make it and if you didn't that meant none of us would make it as well. And Itachi and Zetsu were beat up coming back too, so we thought there might be another attack. And without our chakra it's..." he stopped to look down at her, appearing a bit flustered. It was cute. "Am I making any sense?"

"Yeah, I think so. Don't get worked up over it." She tried to sit up a bit in her seat, but fell right back down again with a frustrated breath. "I don't have a lot to do here in the winter, aside from watching my plants and make pills. I don't know what to do with you all."

"That shouldn't be your problem," Fuyuki interjected, coming up with a mug of warm soup for her to drink down. Steam clung to the surface and wafted up her nose, making her smile. "We will find ways to amuse ourself as well as make ourselves useful. You know Kisame was thinking about building an addition to the house, maybe adding on a few rooms."

Sakura raised her brows. "Building with what? And how? I didn't know he knew how to build."

"There is plenty of natural wood he could use. He found tools and supplies somewhere so all he really needs is permission," Fuyuki said sitting down next to her and resting an arm on the back of the couch she was leaning against.

Sakura nodded, sipping more of the soup with warm pleasure. "If he can and wants to, I think an addition would be a great idea. Just don't let him botch what I already have for a house."

"I'll make sure he knows that, un," Deidara said , turning and walking away, leaving just the two of them alone.

Sakura licked her lips and tasted the broth there before turning to look at the male sitting beside her. "Do you know why Ren is still here? I thought he would have left by now. Neither of you really need to stay, or you aren't forced to stay at least. If he's so negative why doesn't he leave?"

Fuyuki shrugged. "Where would he go? His clan moves around so much he wouldn't be able to find them even if he tried. And besides, he's been a host body for a long time, so there is a chance his family isn't around anymore...or his friends if he had any. It's the same with me. I don't have a place to go to, really. If you wanted me to leave, I would, but...I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I feel better here, and I think that is the same with Ren. He complains a lot but, that is just his nature. He doesn't want to leave."

Sakura finished her soup and put the mug down. "I won't chase you out, don't worry about that, but I don't want you feeling confined here. You don't owe me anything."

Fuyuki looked down, trying to rationalize what he was hearing. He knew Sakura was just trying to be nice and sound caring, but by the time her words got to his ears it sounded like she wanted him gone so she could have a home for her husband to come to. Yes, that had been bugging him for a while, but he didn't want to admit it out loud.

He really liked Sakura, like, really, _really_ liked Sakura. And the notion that she had been married before, or was still married, was eating him up inside. He had grown to care for her more than any other human alive, and while that wasn't very hard considering how few humans he actually liked, it was important to him to love someone more than one's self. It felt like she kept him alive. What did that mean when the husband finally came home? Would it kill him?

"Fuyuki," she called, touching his arm and snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Y-yes?"

"Can you carry me to my bed if it isn't being used. I want to sleep somewhere comfortable, or at least rest. I can walk but still..."

"I'd be happy to," he replied with a smile that showed genuine joy.

Holding her to his chest, he lifted her frail frame off of the couch and carried her into her room just like she asked. Pulling her covers back, he slid her in and tucked her tight before propping her pillows. She thanked him again and then turned her back to him and began to drift away. But he still didn't leave. He stayed at her bedside watching her, enjoying this time more then when he had to watch her struggle to breath in the basement. That had been painful.

Foot steeps behind him caused the ex Pein body to look up and frown. Itachi was standing in the doorway. Fuyuki scowled even thought he know the other male couldn't see it. His anger pulsed loud enough to hear.

"Is she...better?" Itachi asked, in a hushed tone.

"She's just fine, thank you," Fuyuki hissed under his breath, looking away.

Itachi took a step forward and Fuyuki snapped his neck to glare at the Uchiha with a deep loathing even a blind man could feel. Primal fury well up around the white haired man, and Itachi could feel it well enough.

_ 'Don't take another step,_' it seemed to say.

Itachi stopped where he stood and stared into nothingness, seeing with his other senses. "I will come back at another time then, if she is sleeping."

"Don't bother, I don't think she would want to see you at all."

Itachi frowned, and lifted his head a bit, but didn't speak. After a while he turned and stepped out of the room, but stopped in the doorway just long enough to whisper something. "Maybe so, but, nevertheless, I'll still check up on her again."

Fuyuki growled at the words, but made sure to keep his tone in check so as not to disturb Sakura and possibly wake her. Knowing her, she really wouldn't be opposed to seeing the Uchiha because she wasn't the type of person to hold it against someone when they accidently abandon you. No, she wouldn't hold it against him, but that wasn't the only reason Fuyuki was on bad terms with Itachi.

It had happened after the seventh day of Sakura's sleep. It had been long enough and Sasori was starting to suspect something more might be wrong. She had more than enough time to sleep it off, so her continued slumber had them all confused and agitated. It wasn't said out loud, but plenty of them were suspecting the same thing; that she might sleep forever or die away in her sleep.

Itachi was on duty that night, watching her. He had been one of the few most eager to keep an 'eye' on her for the rest of the group, and no one thought that a problem. Only when Fuyuki walked in that one day, he was a bit too quiet and a bit too early. Itachi stood over Sakura with his face against hers, lips brushing against the skin of her face. His hand was in her hair and he looked like he was in pain as he pulled away and rested his head on her shoulder.

Fuyuki was too shocked to move for more than three full minutes. But somehow, Itachi knew he was there.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"..." Itachi said nothing.

"She has a fucking husband, you know," Fuyuki hissed out, angry beyond words.

"I don't care," was all the Uchiha replied with.

"She doesn't love you, she married someone else, damn it!"

Itachi glared at the wall behind the ex Pein host and glared. Even in blindness he was slightly terrifying. "I. Don't. Care." He then laid his head back down on her shoulder and closed his eyes.

He didn't get up for another hour, in spite of the shift schedule, much to the other man's displeasure. That was the last time anyone really kept watch over Sakura. After that, it was only in frequent visits that anyone checked on her.

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AN:/ This chapter was pretty boring to write until I got to the end. Then I felt good about it and decided it was worth publishing. Be happy, I gave up half my morning to write this out.

And I know you haven't seen a lot of me around, have you? I didn't mean for that to happen. In all honesty, I tried to leave, but it didn't work. I couldn't...at least not yet. I still have love here and stuff I need to finish. I get frustrated easily and give up a lot, but I want to stick this one out to the end at least. I'll stop my bitching here before I go on anymore cause I know if I wanted to I could whine and complain till the cows come home.

Please enjoy the chapter.


	13. XIII

_Standard disclaimer applied._

Written by Vesper chan

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**Chapter**

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ReCaP

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Itachi was on duty that night, watching her. He had been one of the few most eager to keep an 'eye' on her for the rest of the group, and no one thought that a problem. Only when Fuyuki walked in that one day, he was a bit too quiet and a bit too early. Itachi stood over Sakura with his face against hers, lips brushing against the skin of her face. His hand was in her hair and he looked like he was in pain as he pulled away and rested his head on her shoulder.

Fuyuki was too shocked to move for more than three full minutes. But somehow, Itachi knew he was there. "What do you think you're doing?"

"..." Itachi said nothing.

"She has a fucking husband, you know," Fuyuki hissed out, angry beyond words.

"I don't care," was all the Uchiha replied with.

"She doesn't love you, she married someone else, damn it!"

Itachi looked at the wall behind the ex Pein host and glared. Even in blindness he was slightly terrifying. "I. Don't. Care." He then laid his head back down on her shoulder and closed his eyes.

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Ren lifted a single lid in the darkness to glance towards the door where he had heard movement. If someone was trying to sneak up on him they were doing a terrible job of it. But, whoever it was, knocked at his door. Sneaks didn't usually knock, so Ren decided to rule out his first suspicion.

"What?" he hissed, opening both eyes and staring up at the celling from his futon on the floor. He was alone for some reason. He couldn't remember why the guy he shared his room with was missing.

The door creaked open and a light filtered in.

"Ren san?"

His eyes fell to her hesitant form standing in the doorway. Her lids were still heavy and her body was probably not yet fully recovered. Last he saw of her, that other bastard was carrying her off like a happy groom. It made him sick.

"What do _you_ want?" His tone was anything but pleasant.

"May I come in?" she asked, as polite as ever.

"It's your house, do what you want."

The light grew and then shrunk as she slipped in and shut the door behind her. Now all he could see by was the moon's glow form the overhead skylight. She stood still for a moment before approaching the edge of his bed and kneeling professionally.

"Are you well, Ren san? I couldn't help but take notice of your disposition yesterday. You don't seem to enjoy being here."

"That so, eh? Is that a problem for you?"

"I know you don't like being here and I can understand that. This isn't your home and you have no reason to enjoy your situation. It's certinally less than ideal with all the other males in this house. But still, as long as you are here I want you to be, at the very least, comfortable with the others and with yourself."

Ren closed his eyes and then opened them again in the direction of the skylight, glancing out at what he could see of the stars. It was a perfectly still and quiet night, just the way he liked them. He missed quiet nights like this one. It was sort of hard to find any quiet when there were a dozen bodies in one house, with all but one of them being male. God, it was like they were incapable of settling down for more than one hour, not that _he_ helped any.

"You really shouldn't be so nosy. I said I was fine and there's nothing more you can do about it."

"Ren san."

"I won't make any more trouble for you, alright. We both know that's the real reason you came here. No one really cares about anyone else in this house. It's only themselves they think about, even when it comes to you," he replied, whispering the last part to himself.

"I honestly want to help you Ren san," Sakura tried again.

"Whatever you say."

Sakura shifted and the moonlight fell on her a little more brightly as she lowered her head and inched forward. "...If there was anything I could do for you..." Her voice dropped and the glow from her eyes intensified, causing Ren to look down at her so fast it nearly gave him whiplash.

An arm reached out to support her upper body as she crawled a little bit forward, moonlight coloring the delicate flesh of her exposed arms and neck. She was wearing the oversized shirt he had seen her in earlier, but that was it. Her thighs peaked out as she stalked forward, and the looping neck showed off an ample amount of chest that made him instantly tense.

She had nothing less than an ideal body.

"Sakura," he tried, but his voice was nearly extinguished and his throat was closing up.

She stalked forward, hands on either side of his body as she hovered over his legs and in front of his chest. "You're not comfortable here, I can tell. You don't feel welcomed by the others, and even unwanted. But you're not Ren kun. I want you to see that."

She moved forward once more and placed her hand on his chest, lightly guiding his body back down into the covers. He obeyed wordlessly, already breathing louder than was normal for a grown man like him. He tried to call her name again, but it was no use. she had stolen his voice.

Her face was against his, lips pressed to his ear. "_I_ want you."

She pulled away and then lowered the top half of her body, resting her hear against his chest. His heart was hammering as those perky white breasts pushed against him through the thin fabric of her shirt.

"What are you doing?" he finally managed to squeak out.

She rocked a bit into him, making him jerk and moan. Her pelves, tilted in just the right way against his, could bring about stars in his eyes. She did it once more with a playful smile before caressing the lines of his torso all the way down to his hips, ignoring the throbbing tent in his pants. She was making him hotter and hotter with every touch and every movement.

It was almost a little too much.

Playfully, her hands pulled up the hem of his shirt and left it bunched up around his neck. Exposed, he shivered in the cold before she pressed her lips to the curve of his chest, stimulating the nipple there. He bucked at the feeling, but her breath on his exposed skin put him at ease. It made him feel like he was where he should be. She kissed him again, as if in apology.

Ren tried to speak once more, and this time something came out. "W-we, we shouldn't be doing this, -oh,ohhhh no Sakura don't-ahhhhh," he moaned as she continued to work over him. He wanted more of it and more of her.

Her voice was in his ear once more. "I told you, Ren kun, I _wanted_ you."

The former Pein body jolted forward with a start and gasped. a quick glance around the room tol him all he needed to know. Kisame and Kakuzu were in their beds at the other end of the room, snoring loudly enough to miss his frustrated pants.

Ren grabbed a clump of hair and growled to himself. "God, I hate that woman so _freaking_ bad!"

.

.

.

The bath was warm, and soothing, and just what she needed after being passed out on a cot for so long. The scars still looked plenty nasty, but after another day of resting as well as her own version of chakra enhanced therapy, they were starting to look much nicer and hurt even less.

Sakura ran a finger along the darkest line on her body, the one that stretched between her breasts and down to her naval. It would probaly leave a light pink scar behind since she didn't get to it in time, but she was fine with that. She had long since ceased to worry about her body and how it looked to others. The people that really mattered to her didn't care what she looked like.

Aside from that, there was no one who could see her that she felt any need to appear pretty for. She didn't hold any extra ordinary friendly feelings for any of the men stuck in her house, and she doubted that would change anytime soon.

She almost snorted at the notion. Her? With one of those guys?

Pulling the plug from the drain, Sakura rose from the bath and grabbed a towel to wrap around herself. With the fluffy white covering secured around her chest, she reached over the sink and wiped the fog off the mirror. After a second to take her appearance in, she began to work at her hair.

Twelve minutes later she emerged in a warm, cotton yukata the color of old honey. Her hair was pulled away from her face and curled back into an introverted bun she was used to making after her mother taught her the method so many years ago. It was the traditional style for woman of her once old clan. While pretty, it was also practical.

The first thing she noticed after stepping out of the bathroom was the larger body of an unwelcome redhead stretched across her spare futon. The second thing she noticed was the robes he had pulled from her closet to drape across his lap.

His eyes swiveled towards her slender form and she tensed as a devilish smile stretched across his lips. His eyes were hooded and mischievous in the dim lighting of her bedchambers. "All dressed up for me, you shouldn't have my _hime_," he cooed, gazing at her too softly to be tender.

"What are you doing in here, Sasori?" she managed to bite out, refusing to move from her spot.

"Appreciating art in all her fineness, of course."

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Stop teasing and leave if you have nothing better to do than annoy me."

"How cold my princess can be," Sasori chuckled, reaching down to grasp the rims of a circular sake glass from her favorite set. She didn't miss the extra cup set out and filled for herself, indicating that he meant for her to join him.

"Is there a reason you've pulled my things out and started hitting my good booze?" she asked, still refusing to move.

"I want you to join me of course. Won't you sit and talk with me. We have so much to catch up on, don't we? I haven't had the benefit of a good set of ears in a long while, so I don't know everything that's going on around here and would like to hear some of it from you. I should think that you owe me that much, hime."

"I don't owe you anything. You would have died if I perished, so the only reason you preserved me was to save yourself. And besides, I'm feeding and lodging you here, that should be payment enough," she huffed, a bit upset with his arrogance. He always was a proud ninja, though, even as a puppet.

Sasori smirked and stretched out his free hand towards her, palm up. "Than please show me a kindness and share company with me. I promise not to perturb you more than the sake can handle. I'll be out of your hair once we have our chat."

"Are you going to bug me until I talk to you anyway?"

"How astute of you," he hummed with devilish glee.

With a tired huff, Sakura cross the room and lowered herself into a reclining position across from the red head and next to the offered cup of sake. Wordlessly she took the cup and downed its contents with one gulp. She had a feeling she would need it.

"I was just admiring your collection of ceremonial robes. I was greatly surprised to see you had the priestess gowns for the Izanami invitation ceremony. it is a rare treasure indeed, seeing as how the clan died out in my time. How did you acquire such silks?" he asked, rubbing fingers over the elaborate trim and patterns.

"...It was my great grandmother's. She was a priestess at one point, but after her death, the families never saw another priestess chosen. With time, the clan was revoked their status without a bloodline or customized jutsu. We had no more secrets to tell, and when I was only a child, we lost that honor."

Sasori nodded slowly, watching only her as she took another full drink. "And so as a Haruno, you must have come from the 'Life' side of the family."

She almost sneered, but held herself in check. "Just as the Hyuga clan has a main house and a branch house, so did the clan of the death goddess. There were those who were the highest level of nobility, the main family of the _Fuyunoyo_ house, and then there was the branch house composed of mere Haruno members. I never was so fortunate to know the discriminating way of this arrangement, since it was just a story for me when I was growing up, but I was told that since every priestess for seven generations came form a Fuyunoyo house, the death side of the goddess, that side of the family had bragging rights."

"So, how did you come about this fine robe if you were not in the proper house?" Sasori drawled, playing with her.

"You should know enough history to answer for yourself," she bit back.

He smirked rakishly. "Not history, but rumors. The branch house robbed the main house blind after the collapse of their clan status."

Wordlessly Sakura rolled her eyes and then poured herself another drink. She saw his cup was empty, so she decided to pour some for him too, even thought she didn't think he was worthy of her booze.

"I think it is a funny twist of fate, that you, a member of the long lost Izanami clan, would one day be the one to resurrect fully the members of the Akatsuki in such a divine fashion. No one else in all the shinobi world could have sustained us all as well as yourself through that ritual. Amazing isn't it?"

"Fate tends to enjoy screwing around with me," she chuckled.

Sasori closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall, swirling the clear liquid around in his cup. "This may mean nothing to you, but I feel strangely connected to you. Like I was born out of you-or reborn out of you. You gave me life, and you gave me death. You held my heart in your hands and possessed me wholly and completely for those many years. I've never felt so magnanimous or illustrious as when I consider myself the product of a kami." He opened his eyes to look at her. "You are my god, I am your puppet."

She stared over at him, not sure of what to say to that. Honestly, she suspected the drink was going to his head for him to call her a god, but it was funny to think about how the two of them were so connected. She had been the one to kill him, and she had been the one who restored him with her own life energy and chakra. And out of all the shinobi in the world, none had the ability to sustain so much chakra so perfectly for so many years. Even powerhouses like Naruto and Kisame didn't have that much chakra at their prime conditions. Only her Yin seal, years old and filled many times over, was capable.

"You're letting the sake talk now, Sasori. Maybe you should go to bed," Sakura sighed, leaning her own head back against the wall and closing her eyes.

She heard him pull her robe away and set it off to the side before standing. The padded footfalls of his socks on her floor were few, and too close to mean he was leaving. When she opened her eyes, she saw him looming over her, hands on either side of her face, trapping her in place. She glared, but that only seemed to make his own cinnamon colored eyes shine even brighter in the dim light.

"Sasori you better get your fu-Mmph!"

Her words were drown out by the crushing power of his lips as he descended upon her, leaning into her. She struggled a bit and protested, but that only gave him opportunity to press his tongue against her own, slipping into her mouth in the process. He sucked her breath away and moaned into the kiss, molding his body against hers as she fell down the wall and onto the floor. His hands found her wrists and held them down as he devoured her.

Breaking away from her lips he panted into her neck, hearing and feeling her gasp beneath him for much needed air. Still delirious on her presence, he kissed her neck and licked the length of it, getting her to gasp once or twice at his method. For being a half dead puppet for so long, it was surprising he had so much energy for something he had never really needed to do before.

"Sasori!" she breathed, arching sharply and trying to pull away.

The feel of her breasts against his own chest did nothing but entice him even more. He sucked in a sharp breath and kissed her collarbone, almost reverently. Once, twice, thrice his lips tickled her skin, making her flush and curse her body.

Enough was enough. She poured chakra into her arms and flexed, sending him off her and against the far wall where he hit her dresser and stopped, not too badly hurt. His face told him he wasn't ashamed of what he had done to her, but he was sorry it was over as far as he could tell. She had the power to best him as well as the authority. Really, all she needed to do was scream and one of the other men would come in and kill him for her out of jealous rage or mere obligation. But she wouldn't scream.

"I think it is time you left, Sasori," she breathed, fighting to keep her tone even.

He swallowed once and then nodded, almost smiling to himself as he climbed to his feet. He patted the wrinkles out of his men's styled yukata and ran a hand through his shoulder length locks. He only took two steps towards the door when he stopped to look back at her.

"I meant what I said earlier. You are my god now, and in any way I can, I'll show that to you."

"I would rather you not," she growled, eyes narrowed.

He nodded, enjoying her displeasure as he smirked to himself. "Till tomorrow then, _hime_."

Sakura watched him leave and then collapsed figuratively. She grabbed at her hair and pulled, screaming to herself without actually ever opening her mouth. It was all too much for her to take in. She didn't deserve this!

Frustrated, she slammed the wood floor and rolled over and up into a sitting position that faced the doorway where Sasori had just left from. When she looked up, there was someone there, staring at her.

'O_h shit_!'

"Tobi, what is it?" she asked, trying to compose herself as best as possible.

"Is Sakura chan alright?" he asked, timid and small sounding.

She nodded. "I'm just peachy, you don't have to worry about me. I'm fine."

Tobi looked over her once more, and took a step over the threshold into her room, but then froze and stepped back into the hall as if thinking better of entering her sleeping quarters. He seemed distracted.

"If-if Sakura chan is alright then, Tobi is going to leave now. Have a good night."

Sakura watched as he disappeared from view, probably running off to his bedroom where he would whisper to someone what he had overheard or seen, if he had seen anything. Sakura dreaded that and almost groaned aloud. But then again, this was Tobi she was thinking about. He would most likely be a good boy and keep it to himself, worrying and fretting his own heart out.

"Whatever," she sighed aloud, reaching for the sake bottle and drinking straight from it.

But Tobi didn't go back to his room, and he didn't keep what he knew, what he had seen, and what he had heard, to himself. He kept nothing to himself regardless of whether he wanted to or not. That wasn't something for him to decide.

He slipped outside and moved past the skeleton framework of the new add ons Kisame was working on. Past the framework, and into the woods, up the hill to the spot where Sakura first found Pein. He stopped and looked around, taking in his surroundings before he plunged deeper into the forest. It wasn't long before he found the clearing.

"Yes?"

A well dressed man in dark black and gold stood among the trees, with his arms crossed over his chest and his face turned away. Tobi took a step forward, and the man turned around to look. His long black hair was braided today, and tied off at the end with a gold clasp that matched the metallic gold paint around his eyes. This man was dressed like royalty, and such was befitting considering who he was.

"I...I did what you asked of me. I watched the others," Tobi confessed, loosing the childish persona he adopted around everyone else.

"And?"

"As you feared, several of her vassals have grown too attached. I just came from hearing Sasori attempt to force himself on Sakura."

There was a snap in the air.

"_Attempt_?"

"She threw him off."

Any anger the dark haired man might have possessed was appeased with that knowledge and a light laugh. "How amazingly intelligent of her to know to reject such inferior products of our work. To settle for anything less than another kami would be foolish."

The young boy swallowed. "...Sasori has already started calling her his god, and Hidan has set up a separate alter to worship her clan's guardian deity. We know Kakuzu knows more than he lets on as well... As for the others, I do not know where they are in considering her." Tobi looked away and then back at the powerful figure dressed in darkness. "It is only a matter of time, now that they have all been revived, before she begins to evolve. It will be painful for her."

"And when that time comes I don't want any of those fools anywhere near her. Soon the solstice will be over and I will have the power I once possessed. I need only bide my time." He looked Tobi in the eye and smirked. "Don't look so frightened, I can't use your body anymore so you need not worry about my presence again."

"I am not concerned with that. I only wish to see the day of reaping upon us as soon as possible."

The darkly clad man shrugged turning away. "I have waited thousands of years, I will wait a few more days." A darker cape hung from a stuble branch nearby. Madara pulled the cape free and swung it around his body to cover him. "Tobi, make sure she gets that letter we left her. I don't want her harboring any lingering attachments to a dead husband she never once needed."

Obito nodded, responding to his code name. "I will."

.

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AN:/ Now we know why Ren hates Sakura. :P I have been wanting to do that for so long. Oh and Sasori, mmmm, I love me some man puppet. I stayed up super late writing this all out for you guys-on my birthday no less. It's really a sign of a lack of social life when you spend your birthday writing fanfiction. Ahhh...well, I hope you all enjoyed this!

BTW: The main reason behind my super fast update, (it was faster than most updates), was a handful of really moving and flattering reviews that made me feel inspired once more. So yeah, reviews do actually help! If it were not for those reviews, this would still come out, but it would take another few weeks. :P

Please _**REVIEW**_! It makes it work the trouble and effort.


	14. XIV

_Standard disclaimer applied._

Written by Vesper chan

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**Next Chapter~**

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ReCaP

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_The darkly clad man shrugged turning away._

_ "I have waited thousands of years, I will wait a few more days." A darker cape hung from a stuble branch nearby. Madara pulled the cape free and swung it around his body to cover him. "Tobi, make sure she gets that letter we left her. I don't want her harboring any lingering attachments to a dead husband she never once needed."_

_Obito nodded, responding to his code name. "I will."_

.

"You do not need to force yourself to work so soon. It would be wise to let the body rest until it is fully recovered," Itachi said, staring through her with unseeing eyes as she prepared herself.

"My chakra is as good as it is ever going to get so we might as well start now. I don't have to do bench presses for something like this so don't worry about the condition of my body." She scooted her stool closer to the couch he was sitting on. "And besides, it's not like you can see how badly I was hurt, so how do you know I'm not already better?"

He humped, sounding a little too much like his younger brother from when Sasuke and Sakura were 12 year olds. "I do not need eyes to know your breathing is still labored and your steps are still sore. Do not take me for a fool, Sakura. I have had plenty of time to prepare for a life without my eyes."

"Yes," she murmured, placing her hands on either side of his face, itching them up till the ends of her fingertips ran through his raven locks. "Well, let us hope that in this case, those were times ill spent. I don't want you to have to lose your sight if you can help it."

A moment long enough for him to swallow and exhale passed. "Why?"

"Pardon?" She didn't understand his question.

"Why would you care if I am able to see or not? I do not see how this would have any impact on your wellbeing. I do not fully understand, explain."

"You look at things so oddly, Itachi. I don't see things the same way you do. There really is nothing for me to gain if I heal your eyes, or at least nothing to gain that I know of. But my wanting to help you has nothing to do with personal gain. I want to help you because that is who I am. I am a healer, that is my nature, it's how I think and act."

Her hands sagged against his face a bit, threatening to fall away as she deflated, and he could feel that well enough. He frowned. "Sakura?"

She smiled sadly to herself and shook her head. "No, it is nothing. I... I have just changed a lot these past few years and I had almost forgotten some things in that time. I _am_ a healer, but more than that I have had to become a fighter; a survivor. My nature has been diminished by necessity, I'm afraid."

Itachi reached up and grabbed her hands on either side of his face, lifting them further up and holding them suspended against his temples. She didn't say anything, and she didn't protest, so he rubbed his thumb against one of her pinkies in affection. "You have the hands of a healer. They are warm. Thank you, Sakura."

She smiled to herself, shaking her thoughts free and regaining focus. Itachi would need her help, and she didn't want to let him down, but more than that, she wanted to regain her old self. She wanted to go back to being the healer she had run away from when she left the Fire country. She would still fight, and she would still create those weapons for enemy countries, but that would not be what defined her.

"I am going to begin now. You might feel something like a fog behind your eyes, that is going to be me, just assessing the damage so far. I need a better view of what I am working with before I start any reconstruction. It might be a while before you actually see anything."

"That is fine."

"Okay, hang on a sec," she whispered, closing her own eyes and letting the energy that glowed green flow out of her fingertips and into the Uchiha man with damaged, ruby eyes.

Itachi stiffened a little bit once he felt her inside of him, assessing him on such an intimate level. She was somewhat like a fog, but she was a warm fog filled with sunlight. More than fog she was a tangible light in his mind, warming and nurturing him from within. Like feathers her chakra seeped over the nerve endings and inner workings of his eye, observing and exploring. It was not weird at all, in fact, he found it pleasant, just like a relaxing massage almost.

He relaxed against her hands and breathed out, deflating like a tired child against the side of his mother. He didn't want to leave, and he didn't want her to finish.

"Okay, now open your eyes slowly and tell me if anything has changed," she instructed, pouring more of her warm, sunshine-like chakra into the damaged areas of his eyes.

He lifted his lids slowly, not expecting anything more than the murky black and gray world of muffled lights and formless shapes. But this time there was color at least. Slowly, shapes came into focus, and then lines. He looked up and saw her face, and nearly stopped breathing.

"Can you see anything?" she asked, sounding hopeful.

"…You have dark bags under your eyes."

She frowned instantly. "You're so very kind, Itachi. Do you really want me to keep going or should I stop?"

"You are tired. Sakura, you should not be pushing yourself if you need rest."

Grumbling, she pulled back from the damaged areas and just like a dimmer being turned down, the vision in front of his eyes began to fade into a colorless, shapeless, blob of gray and black. The warmth of her hands left his face as she dropped her arms and sighed.

"Very well, that is enough for one day. I learned a lot more than I was expecting to and your eyes seemed to respond well to the treatment if you were able to criticize my appearance."

He waited a while till the tingling sensation behind his eyes faded away before responding. "I am sorry, I did not mean to insult you, especially when you have been so kind to me thus far. I am only concerned now that you might be pushing yourself to care for me. It should be the other way around."

"Have you forgotten who the doctor around here is?" she asked with a soft chuckle as she stood from her stool to stretch, popping a few bones along her spin with a pleasant cracking sound that made her feel more flexible afterwards.

"You may be the doctor, but you are also the one who sustains our life force. You are the one we should be protecting, the one I should be protecting. I already owe you my life."

Sakura frowned, taking a few steps towards the kitchen till she was in the light from the window over the sink. Outside she could see the distant figures of Kisame and a few of the other boys, out in the cold, cutting down trees for lumber before constructing the rest of the framework. Their project was coming along nicely, even if it was something that was not so necessary. Maybe it was their way of repaying her? Maybe they viewed themselves as in her debt…which they were. Yeah, the more she thought about it the more it made sense.

"I wish you wouldn't think like that Itachi," she finally replied, turning around to face him even though she knew he wouldn't see the gesture or appreciate it any. "I don't want to hold you in any debt for…recent events. Don't' feel like you have to stick with me or pay me back."

"That would hardly be fair," he said, turning his face towards her general direction, but missing the sight of her. "I do not see how I could sleep at night with that sort of mindset."

"All the same…" she thought back to Sasori and his words last night. How he came for her and called her his god like some devoted servant. It felt wrong. "I wouldn't want you getting too attached. I'm not planning on housing you forever."

"Of course."

A moment without speaking passed between them.

Finally, Sakura spoke. "Wait for twenty four hours or so, and then come back here for another session. I don't think I can do as much as you or I would like, but at least I can partly restore your vision as long as you are not using your bloodline trait. If the Sharingan is not being used, then it is just the same as any pair of eyes, as far as I can tell."

Itachi swallowed, unwilling to ask the question they were both thinking about.

Sakura looked back at him and shook her head. "I'm sorry, but any good I do will only be undone if you were to use your Sharingan again. However, seeing as how you cannot use chakra anyway, I don't think that is really too much of an issue, right?"

"Kakuzu seems to believe that our inability to control or use chakra…is only temporary," Itachi softly stated.

Sakura frowned, not exactly comfortable with the idea of so many powerful individuals in her house, stronger than her and not unwilling to use force for what they wanted. True, many were now on semi friendly terms with her, (She didn't know how else to think of Sasori), but they were still criminals with the same pasts she feared. They were not good people, just like she was not a good person.

"If your chakra does return, Itachi," she began, forcing her mind to return to the present conversation. "Then it will be a decision you will have to make for yourself, if you want to trade your eyes for that power or not. I can't be the one to decide that for you."

"If it did return…What would then happen?" he asked, still staring through the wall without seeing anything.

"You ask a lot of silly questions for an Uchiha," Sakura sighed.

"Humor me."

Sakura ran a hand through her bangs, combing them. "Like I said, that would have to be a decision you make for yourself. As for your condition, if you are able to leave that I won't stop you, since that is probably what you want, along with everyone else."

"And if I didn't?"

She turned to look at him and saw that he was staring at here, dead in the eye, almost as if he could see her and was watching for her reaction. She felt exposed under his gaze, but didn't exactly dislike it. No, it was almost pleasant, if she thought about it. "I told you," she began, careful with her words. "I wouldn't force you out."

"But you are still not comfortable with my presence," he finished, frowning slightly.

"…I don't do well with other people anymore. I'm sorry."

"Would this have anything to do with me, personally, or is it more because of your husband?" She saw him react to her change in breathing, so aware of even her smallest movements. "Yes, I know, as do the others, I am afraid. I am sorry for not letting you know sooner."

"How did you…"

"A photo album, Deidara found it in a spare room. There was a wedding he said, though I could not see it."

Sakura swallowed and then nodded weakly. She knew it had only been a matter of time before they knew. "To be honest, I hadn't given him, I mean, given Kakashi much thought these past few days…or I try not to. He…he's overdue for a letter or a check in or something that lets me know he is alive and he normally is late, but this is beyond late for lateness and that really isn't like him when it comes to the important things."

"You are uneasy about something else then." Itachi was not questioning her.

"It doesn't feel right in my chest and at first I thought it was because of you guys, but…I don't' want to talk about it Itachi. If you want to continue to live with me that's fine as long as you stay out of my way. To be honest I would feel bad if I chased you, personally, out after knowing your history with my old village. I don't see you as I once did."

Itachi nodded. "I will stay then.

"If that is what you want," she replied, watching him rise to leave.

He did that thing where he looked at her again, seeing her without seeing her. His eyes were cold and dark and beautiful and absorbing jewels sunken in his face. He spoke with firmness and conviction, rocking Sakura back on her heels a bit.

"It_ is_."

She watched him leave, unmoving from the place where she stood. He was sort of beautiful.

.

Shrugging, Sakura turned from the kitchen and made her way towards a hall closet where she kept some weights for working out with, as well as some ankle weights she could wear when running. They were not unlike the kid Lee had worn once upon a time.

Still in the late recover stages, Sakura took a few of the lighter weights and made her way to the sun room where should hoped to be able to do some working out in peace. Hidan had set up his stupid alters in the same room, but it was large enough to give the both of them enough space to do their own thing while not hindering the other.

All the same, the only reason Sakura was using that back room was because Hidan was absent. For some reason, she didn't want to run into the overly religious serial killer.

Rolling a yoga mat out, Sakura began to work, straining her body and pushing it to grow stronger. It was stressful at times, mostly because she knew she should have been stronger than what she was, but peaceful at the same time. She was doing something she knew how to do, and she was doing it well.

"Oh."

Her weights fell to the ground with her arms, where she left them when she straightened up and turned around to see who had entered. At no surprise, Hidan stood in the doorway.

"I was finished anyway," Sakura answered, wiping sweat from her brow and breathing deeply. "I'm gonna leave so feel free to use this room however you want."

"You don't have to leave. This is your house, you know," he replied, surprisingly polite, if not a bit gruff in his tone of voice. At least he wasn't swearing and cursing at her like she expected him to.

"Do you not have prayers today?"

Hidan shook his head. "They wouldn't be worth anything. My god has abandoned me and refused to respond to my sacrifices or prayers. He is upset with my death and resurrection."

"That is…a pity," Sakura answered, looking over towards the alter where his cryptic triangle symbol shared the center of the table with her own Haruno circle. It was a bit creepy to see the two together in comparison. She had heard that Hidan's god was started form a bastard branch of the Haruno family line, but that was all talk and nothing more, she assumed.

"I choose not to dwell on it. There are other, stronger, forces at work now." He reached into his shirt and pulled out the charm she had always remembered seeing him with. The rosary had been altered since she last saw it. No longer was there a triangle in the center, leaving behind only one plain, white circle.

"How cute," Sakura sarcastically bit, not really appreciating how her family's long forgotten past was being dug up and revisited by someone as crazy as Hidan. What did that make her family if freaks like Sasori, who turned humans into puppets, and Hidan who murdered for his religion, were looking into her ancient histories. It wasn't a pleasant thought.

"You disapprove."

"I do not follow the family ways, I'm afraid, so I can't really be excited for you. I won't stop you, though, if that is what you want to do now with your time. Never mind that she never answered the prayers of my family…" Sakura stopped herself before she went any further. "I should be going."

"Wait," he called, reaching out and catching her by the sleeve. "You can't just say something like that, when you've seen what has happened. Didn't we all die? Didn't you bring us all back to life? Are you not a descendant of the goddess herself? You can't say she has never answered any of your prayers."

Sakura swallowed, looking the silver haired man in the eye. He had beautiful eyes, if nothing else. His whole appearance, actually, was quite pleasant now that she considered it. The shape of his face was shown off with his slicked back hair and vivid, lilac purple eyes. Still, he was too crude a man for her to consider.

"Why have you stopped cursing, Hidan?" she asked suddenly.

He blinked, a bit taken aback. "Cause I'm not pissed. Is that a problem?"

"It's…odd," she admitted, pulling her hand free. "I'm not sure I am used to it, but I'm not going to say I dislike it."

"…Oh…okay…then," he murmured, not really sure what to say next.

Sakura looked down at her arm and grimaced. She stank and was sweating enough to show a shine when she moved through the light. "Whatever, I need to get going. I can't stay like this for much longer," she said, leaving her weights where she set them and walking past Hidan towards her room.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw him turn towards her, but he made no move to chase her or stop her in any way.

Down the hall she turned into her room, closing the door behind her as privet thoughts began to take over her mind. She mused and contemplated and remembered things she thought she would never have to think about. The grief of her mothers, and shame of her father...it was all coming back to her in grim detail, despite how much she did not want to see any of it.

But...was it really such a big deal? No, of course it wasn't.

She almost laughed to herself at how much though she was giving something that wasn't worth the bat of of an old woman's eyelashes. and honestly, it wasn't in her nature to worry about such stupid things that were out of her control. Important things that were out of her control, life the safety of her loved ones far away, and important things that were in her control, like the bleeding body on her medical table, were what she worried about. Things like her family shame and history had no place in her mind, no place at all.

Ignoring the static of her thoughts, she grabbed the door handle to her bathroom and walked in, looking down at the shelves where her towels should be.

"Shit!"

She turned real fast, eyes wide, to see Deidara in her shower, holding up a damp towel, and nothing else.

Nothing else

"Fuck," she hissed to herself turning and making for the door. She reached for it, but her mind was in such a scramble she banged it with her foot and then ran into it before she could grab it, sending her back onto her but in a blushing mess.

"Sakura are you-"

"OhmygodI'msosorry!" she blurted, turning her face away and covering her tightly closed eyes. "I didn't know anyone was in here and I wasn't paying attention when I walked in. I didn't mean to do that, I'm really not a pervert, I swear."

"It, um, it's okay' I have it on now, un." He sounded a little less rattled than here, but still stiff. "And it's not like you've never seen anything before. You are a doctor, right?"

Sakura just groaned and buried her face deeper into her hands, bending over in shame on the floor. "I'm so sorry."

He chuckled, kneeling down behind her. "Don't worry, I understand, it is only natural after all that you would want to sneak a peak after having to live with me for so long without any action, un," he joked, purposely sounding extra cocky and ridiculous. "I'm just flattered you went after me when you could have easily sneaked a peak at Itachi, him being blind and everything."

She snorted into her hands, finally cracking. "Don't let it go to your head. I honestly didn't know anyone would be using my shower."

Deidara chuckled a little in reply. "Yeah, that might be a bit of my fault. I didn't tell you or didn't think I needed to since everyone else was using the other showers. We're all nasty from working outside and everything, even if it is cold."

Sakura shivered. "Now I am a little thankful it was you I walked in on and not Kakuzu. I don't think I could ever look that guy in the eye again."

"And you can with me?"

Sakura let her hands drop to the floor and turned her head to the side, preparing to look back. "Are you decant? I'm going to try leaving again."

"I would like to think that I'm better than decant, but I guess I could say _yes_ for now. Sure you don't want to try for another peak?" he laughed.

"I've had enough for one day, thank you. "I'll leave you to change."

"Wait!" he reached out and slammed the door closed just as she managed to get it cracked open. He was incredibly close to her in proximity, so much that she could feel the heat from his still warm body, rolling off and over her. She would be lying if she said she wasn't tempted to open her eyes a crack.

"What is it?" she didn't trust herself to say anything more.

"I...don't have any clothes in here. I was planning on just going to my room for them, actually."

"What?" she nearly whirled around to face him full, but caught herself and managed to keep her eyes from wandering when she planted them on his face. His hair was damp, clinging to his face, and out of the traditional ponytail she remembered him with. The change made him seem older and more mature, especially when his blond eyelashes hold water droplets so carelessly. She swallowed once before continuing. "You were planning on running around my house in the buff, with nothing but a scrap of towel to keep you covered?"

"We used to do it all the time back at the base, Konan, the only girl, was never around so..."

"I'm around now!"

"I know, I forgot that you might mind, I'm sorry."

"Are any of the others going to think the same?" she asked, sounding a little sick. Kakuzu _really_ freaked her out.

"Probably not, but I can't say for sure. I mean, it's not like we thought we had anything to hide-"

"Oh God, too much information!" she squealed, trying to fight the mental images. (This was so not appropriate for a married woman.)

"Sorry, un," he replied, blushing a bit at his embarrassing words. At least he had that much decency. "I won't forget next time, but it sort of doesn't matter now if you look at me or not, now I mean. that you look at me now when I'm wearing a towel, not that I would mind if you were to look at me when I wasn't, which you did, but I'm not cause I don't, I mean, because you would have a right in a way, not that I'm a freak for thinking like that but you did revive me and it's not like you oh Kami,...I'll shut up now."

"Yeah, that might be a good idea."

He nodded and followed her out, noticing how she never looked back at him even as he sneaked by to go out into the hallway. He did, however, stop in her doorway and turn around, still holding onto the fully white material that bunched around his waist and stopped before his knees. "Sakura?"

"Yeah?" she asked without looking back.

"Can we have a bonfire Thursday night? We'll be done by then and have leftover wood so we were thinking we could dig a pit or something and have a little fun."

"It's freezing outside."

"It is actually a pretty mild winter, we though, and there isn't going to be any snow soon. Plus the fire is going to be there to keep us warm, right?"

Sakura rubbed her face and turned around a little bit to peek at him from behind the edges of her fingers. If she though his face looked good when he was wet than his body looked beastly with the accenting gleam of shower water to complement every little divit and bulge she wouldn't have expected from someone as slender as he. But he had been working out with Kisame, and building the house addition without chakra was demanding work. All in all, the finished product was a little to fine for Sakura's tastes. It was as if she couldn't find anything wrong with him. Not good.

"I won't stop you if you want to do something like that, just make sure you're careful and keep it contained."

"We will."

Sakura swallowed and then nodded her head. "Yeah, okay then, that's fine."

The blond grinned wide, showing off how rakish he could look with just the right smile and loose hair. "Thanks, and don't worry, I won't let the others know you're a pervert."

she sputtered. "_D_-_Deidara_!"

.

.

* * *

AN:/Holy cheese sticks on fry bread! I love you guys, There were so many helpful and encouraging reviews that made me smile and then feel bad for not updating this three months ago. This was overdue and I'm sorry for that. I wanted to get this out sooner. Itachi is always one of my favorite men to play with, er I mean, **write** about. Yeah. Umm...I like him and Sasori and Deidara a ton, but Sasori got his time in the last chapter so I had to make my rounds somehow. I guess no one was expecting something like that though. Poor Dei-kun, getting creeped on like that. Ahahaha...well, I hope you all enjoyed this.

Please _**REVIEW**_! It makes it worth the trouble and effort.


	15. XV

_Standard disclaimer applied._

Written by Vesper chan

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**Next Chapter~**

**.**

All the good sake was gone and they weren't even halfway through the winter.

This was bad.

_Very_ bad.

"So this is where I find the rest of the booze," Hidan chuckled, coming outside to join Sakura.

The pink haired medic turned to look over her shoulder and frowned, pulling her beers closer to her chest. Hidan didn't seem to get the message and sank down to sit beside her on the porch, letting one leg dangle over the edge while the other held up his arm. When he pulled a beer from her arms, she didn't stop him, making him grin.

"Asshole," a slightly intoxicated Sakura muttered, looking away from him.

"Now who is the one with the language problem?" he laughed, twisting the cap off with his bare hands. He took a swig and then made a face. "Damn, this stuff is awful, no wonder you left this for last."

Sakura shook her head and then finished off her beer. "I find myself consuming greater quantities of alcohol these past few months...not that you've been here that long, I don't think. Kami, I don't even want to know anymore. Too long, just too long."

Hidan frowned and then reached over to feel her face with the back of his hand. He touched her cheeks, and then her forehead, before moving his hand back down to her reddening cheeks. "Is there something bothering you, princess? You feel drunk."

"That usually happens when you drink booze, buddy," she sarcastically bit back, jerking her head away from his hands.

"You don't usually get drunk when you drink so little. You've had what, three beers? I've seen you go through more, and heard of how you've outlasted men twice your size. Something different about this time?"

She shrugged. "I'm choosing not to break down the alcohol in my blood, it's a medic thing, don't ask. Tonight I don't care about the size of my next hangover, I really don't. I don't care about anything. I just don't...ugh."

Hidan leaned towards her, reaching out with his free hand in case she decided to pitch over, off the porch and into the snow below her toes. It was nicely chilled for a winter night, but nothing a bit of booze in the bloodstream couldn't fix. Sakura's skin was warm and radiating heat, nullifying the work of the winter winds.

Even though it looked like she didn't have control of her body, Sakura managed to right herself and fix her body of its rocking, straightening up and stilling.

"Is there something bothering you particularly? This isn't like you to act so loosely. Not that I'm complaining, it's nice to see you unwind a little. But, this is too different from the tight laced personality we've been seeing from you. What's got your panties in a twist?"

Sakura glared over at Hidan from beneath her spidery lashes. "Shut up. I'm not gonna talk to a man like you..."

He nodded. "Ohhhhh, I see. So, who tried molesting you this time?"

Sakura threw her empty beer bottle at his head and missed, hitting on of the frames for the porch. Her bottle cracked upon impact, but otherwise rolled harmlessly away, doing no damage to the lovely eyed man.

"Was it Sasori again? He's not used to putting his hands down lady pants, I'm sorry. He doesn't know how to stop himself. But I was sure he wouldn't be trying again so soon after being caught by Ren. I thought those two where going to fight it out yesterday...but they didn't. Kisame would have taken bets."

"I don't care about his stupid bets," Sakura coughed, feeling her voice falter from the rough treatment she had been putting it through. "And it doesn't have anything to do with Ren or Fuyuki or anybody else in my stupid house." Sakura breathed deep, sucking the wind into her lungs, before exhaling.

"Care to share, baby doll, or do I get to guess all night long?"

"Why the hell do you care?"

"Maybe I don't. Maybe I just want to know for the knowing sake. Don't think I care for you, personally. I adore you for your heritage, but as far as you are concerned as an individual, I'm not interested, no matter how toned your legs are."

"Liar."

"Hey, at least I tried."

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, studying his rough, yet, charming profile. He looked like a piece of marble, carved through the hands of a master. He might not act it, but she knew he cared about her well being. At first he was hesitant with her, unable to detach his reverence from his personality till she slapped him across the face for it one day. Afterwards, he was more comfortable around her, and became that unlikely ally in a house of hormone driven men who were obviously and not so obviously holding feelings for her.

Sakura leaned back, resting the weight of her body on her elbows. She kept her eyes half lidded as she stared out across the white lands that stretch on into the forest. It was a peaceful night, making it the total opposite of her mind at the moment.

"You don't care."

"Might as well just tell me, anyway."

Sakura grumbled, but shifted to free one hand, nearly loosing her balance in the process. She pulled out a piece of paper from inside her shirt, folded against her breast. It was a letter from her old village, or small town within the fire country at least. He picked it from her fingers, flipping it around and unfolding it in one motion.

"It's a list of names...why would this...oh." He stopped when he saw the words Hatake Kakashi printed towards the bottom. "What is this?"

"A list," she breathed, feeling her throat close up with the treat of another breakdown she wouldn't be able to hide so well. "What does it look like?"

"What's the list off, there is nothing to tell me that on this piece of paper. What does this mean to you?" Hidan asked, feeling a little frustrated at how hard it was for her to tell him what he was looking at. A list of names, only half of which he recognized...what did it all mean?

"They're traitors...traitors to Leaf, and they're all dead. It's a list of all the traitors Danzo has ex-eh-e-executed," her voice broke towards the end and she started laughing, leaking tears out of the sides of her eyes. She forced herself into a slow chuckle that subsided into deeper breaths.

"Sakura," Hidan breathed, unable to understand what exactly he should do or say in this sort of situation. Sakura fell off her elbows and rolled onto her side, reaching for the remaining beers. She had trouble opening the first one her hands found.

Hidan reached over her and pulled the beer out of her hands. She protested when she thought he was going to take it away from her, but he was just undoing the top for her. With it opened, he handed the glass bottle of beer back into her hands, knocking his own beer against it before taking a swig for himself. Sakura watched mutely for a moment, before tipping the bottle back and abusing her throat again.

"Don't worry about tomorrow."

"I won't," she muttered.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, watching for signs of further deterioration. She actually looked pretty good for a woman who just found out her husband had been killed in an execution for something he didn't deserve. "When did you find out?"

"This morning, but I didn't...I couldn't believe it. I know I should but I can't. Its not even hitting me now. It doesn't feel real this far away, even though I had this fear for weeks. I knew something was wrong."

"You couldn't have known when you were so far away. It's hard to be certain even with this confirmation."

"..."

"Maybe its a fake."

She shook her head, but didn't offer an explanation. Her drink was too important to part from, as she threw her head back and swallowed more. Hidan winced at how fast she downed her drink with no thought of saving it. She wasn't drinking for the sake of enjoying a drink, but for the numbness she could find in it. It was scary to watch when it was happening to someone next to you, someone you cared about in one way or another.

Hidan reached out to touch the back of her head, hoping to tilt it forward and cut off her savage abuse of the drink, but she was finished with her beer before he could touch her hair strands. The glass feel from her limp fingers and rolled off her lap into the snow. She groaned and the swayed sideways, towards Hidan. She felt so warm, warmer than she should.

"You'll be fine," he whispered, not feeling comfortable with the feeling of being the comforter. All the same, he brushed the tangled strands out of her face and pat them down. She seemed to not mind it, so he pet her again, and again. At least she wasn't crying anymore.

Without a word, she pushed off from him and slid off the edge of the porch, falling into the snow with a muffled crunch. Her boots made shallow prints as she walked away, swaggering and swaying just a bit. She caught one leg behind the other and fell forward into the snow with a loud 'whomp' sound. Hidan made a move to stand, but decided against it, seeing how she reacted.

Sakura screamed loudly and hit the earth, throwing piles of white into the air. She kicked, clawed, stood and stomped, flailing about without reason or direction. She was moving as a means to get her frustration vented. Soon, it looked like she was dancing under the twinkling stars.

"What happened?" Fuyuki asked, coming out with Itachi trailing behind him. Hidan looked, but it didn't seem like Sasori or Deidara were coming to check on their obsession. Tobi, however, was spotted in the doorway, however, it didn't look like he was coming out any further.

Wordlessly, Hidan handed the piece of paper she had been keeping secret over his shoulder. Fuyuki picked it up and unfolded it. He frowned, brushing long stands of white hair behind his ear before passing the note onto Itachi, who only held it awkwardly. Still blind, he couldn't read.

"What is this?" Itachi asked.

"It's a list of names, but I don't know what they mean," Fuyuki said. "What did she tell you, Hidan?"

"They're people Danzo killed. Her husband is on that list."

"Oh Kami no," The pale, white haired man breathed. Fuyuki went white in the face and felt a little sick in his stomach, imagining what Sakura must be feeling. Her husband, of all people, was killed when she couldn't do anything to prevent it.

"Is she okay?" he asked without thinking.

Hidan turned around to stare up at the man and gave him a WTF sort of look. "What do you think, dumb ass? She drinking herself numb and screaming at the snow. You think that tells you anything."

Itachi took a step forward, but Hidan grabbed his leg, stopping the blind man. "Uh uh, not tonight, Uchiha. She needs time along, let her have that. You can comfort her in the morning when she is hung over, bushy tailed and bright eyed for you."

"You're asking me to leave her alone to suffer?" Itachi asked, evenly, obviously not pleased with the suggestion.

Hidan sighed, letting his shoulder sag. "Damn, you're worse than a woman when you're in love. Don't smother her right now, she needs time and space so she can breath. As her friend I want to at least give her that."

Itachi glared at the white haired male, not knowing exactly where his face was beyond his blindness. "A friend? How cunning of you, to dress yourself up in sheep skins and play the part of protector, when we all know you're nothing like such. You may not have romantic feelings for her, but you are not her friend."

"You're just emotional, go back into the house and change your tampon before you think about bothering her."

Just then, Deidara came up behind Tobi, uncharacteristically quiet. The blond looked down at the boy and then out at the snow field where Sakura cried into the snow. Tobi was looking at nothing else, and if Deidara didn't know better, the kid sounded a bit too sorry to be as unattached to Sakura as he once claimed to be.

Deidara frowned. He hadn't believed Tobi would go for the whole, lonely heart act, but it did seem to fit the boy's character. Yet, Tobi pining after the girl so many other males were pining after was something odd. If someone else wanted what Tobi wanted, Tobi would give it up with a pout and two hours worth of complaining. Tobi never desired anything someone else wanted for more than a few minutes.

But was it really that odd of a thing? Sakura was the only female they had to look at, and the first one they could build a connection with. She was their savior after all, and she was pretty damn hot if he had to admit it. Why wouldn't Tobi fall in love with her?

"I'm so sorry," Tobi whispered to himself, catching Deidara off guard. Tobi still wasn't aware of the blond standing mere feet behind him. Deidara couldn't help but frown at how guilty Tobi sounded. Guilty of what?

"What are you sorry for, un?" Deidara asked, finally revealing himself.

"Ack!" Tobi exclaimed, jumping a bit. "Tobi is sorry for watching! Tobi won't do it again." The boy made to run, but his former partner caught him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him back.

"I don't think that's it, now is it? What aren't you telling me, you brat?"

"Tobi doesn't know anything, Tobi swears."

"Fat chance I'm taking your word for it. Why did you said you were sorry to Sakura. What did you do to upset her?" Deidara asked, hissing out each word with more anger than he meant to. Sakura being upset was making him upset, and Tobi seemed like the perfect guy to vent some of that anger on.

"Tobi saw the letter, Tobi saw but he still let Sakura chan open it. Tobi is sorry he let Sakura chan read it! Tobi is sooooooo, so, so, sorrrrrrry, waaaahhh!" the young boy exclaimed, sounding like he was a kid caught pushing about a puppy.

Feeling a little disgusted with the crying act, Deidara dropped him with a deep sigh. "Kami, so damn annoying. No wonder no one ever wants to have kids. If you're going to cry over something like that then weep for the price of Tea in Wave."

"What's wrong with the tea in Wave," Tobi hesitantly asked, obviously missing the pun of the joke.

"It sucks, that's what is wrong with it. Get out of the way if you're just going to stand there and stare, such a eyesore." Deidara lifted one leg up and began to kick Tobi in the side until the younger male took enough abuse and finally moved out of the way, clearing the doorway.

Fuyuki was the only one who turned around to look at Deidara as the Iwi nin made his way outside onto the porch. Deidara raised his chin and stared down his nose at the white haired man who had once been called Pein. "What are you looking at, un?"

"You're being loud and disruptive," Fuyuki answered, narrowing his own eyes and glaring over at Deidara.

The two of them had never been friends, but recently things had gotten icy between the pair of them. Things were getting icy between everyone, thought. It was a rare thing if there came a day when nobody fought or got into that verbal spar. With that being said, Deidara wasn't really friendly with Fuyuki.

"Well at least I am doing something, _Pein,_" Deidara bit, using the old name that Fuyuki refused to answer to.

"Bug off."

"Un," Deidara sneered, walking past Fuyuki.

The blond ignored Itachi and Hidan, both of whom had since quieted down and settled for glaring at each other, and passed them before stepping off the porch into the snow. The fresh snow crunched under his feet.

"What the hell are you doing now?" Hidan asked, sounding annoyed.

"Shut up," Deidara snapped, stalking forward in spite of the cold. He didn't have any booze in his blood to warm him like Sakura or Hidan, but that didn't matter much seeing as how he would only be outside for a minute. He stopped next to Sakura and leaned down. She didn't move to acknowledge his presence.

"Sakura," he whispered, bending down to brush against her arm. Even after dancing in the snow and collapsing into it, she was still warm, warmer than she should have been. "Shit, you're running a fever aren't you?"

"Don't care," she murmured into the snow, not caring if her words came out sounding like _'bonk tare._'

Deidara cursed, reaching down and digging his arms under her body. She tried pulling away, but he rolled her back into his arms and folded her there, keeping her close to his chest. She frowned up at him, but didn't say anything in protest.

He carried her back into the house, past all the pouting males on the porch, and into her own bedroom, closing the door behind him with his foot. Her bathroom door was open so he let himself in, closing that door behind him as well. He lowered her to the floor and turned on the knob for the tub's hot water.

He then began pulling her boots and socks off, followed by her skirt and shirt, leaving her in only her undergarments. He would lie and say he wasn't tempted to remove those too, 'for her health of course,' but he knew she would later be angry with him so he didn't touch those just yet.

"What are you doing?" she asked, not really sounding like she cared.

"Taking care of you. Those bastards outside are idiots to just leave you alone like that. I don't care if you need time to grieve, you also need to live, and floundering around in the snow at night is not the best way to stay healthy, even _I_ know that and I'm an idiot."

"You shouldn't care."

"But I do, Sakura."

"...You're an idiot," she said.

"I already said that, sweetheart. Now come on, into the tub."

He picked her up again and set her into the slowly filling tub, trying to look away as her garments failed to hide everything as they became soaked. Still, she didn't seem to mind, or else she wasn't registering anything. This wasn't the same woman who burst in on him showering and nearly split her head open when she tried to look away.

"Sakura," he called, reaching towards her, tilting her face towards his. Her eyes were half lidded and red from tears. He tapped her cheek , trying to get her eyes to focus on his. "Sakura I-mph."

Without warning, the tired girl reached forward, closing the distance between their lips. Deidara froze for a half a nano second in shock before the heat of her lips made him melt. She gasped into him and he, in turn, mimicked the action and matching her rhythm. The curve of her tongue in his mouth tickled him and sent lightning down his spine.

She leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his head and chest, pulling her body up from the waters to press against his. he moaned at the feel of her against him. They fit and it all felt too perfect. He broke for air, only for a moment before he was back to panting into her kiss and pressing her against him as much as possible. He loved the way she meowed for him and made those tiny sound in the back of her throat for him.

"Kami, Sakura I love you," he breathed into her jaw, kissing the length of it as she panted.

"I love you too, Kakashi."

He froze for much longer than a nano second, feeling as if someone had sliced open his bursting heart. It stung painfully and nearly made him blind. But, that was what he needed. The pain brought him back to reality.

This wasn't for him, and he knew that. Sakura was drunk, in heavy mourning, and feverish. Of course she was delusional, of course she wasn't thinking straight, of course she wasn't thinking of him that way. He was a fool to believe this one act of kindness could win her heart over.

"Kakashi?" she breathed, barely able to keep open her eyes.

Deidara felt his chest pinch again, but he forced himself to smile. "Hush up now. You need to take care of yourself. Let go of me and get back in the waters, I'll take care of you till you're well again."

"Don't leave me, please," she begged, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

leaning forward Deidara kissed them away, allowing himself this one indulgence before going back to being her friend. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here."

.

.

.

.

That did not come out the way I had planned it, but I am not upset with the result. in my mind, Deidara is one of the hottest guys in her house since he stopped wearing his hair up. The mental image makes this so much worth it.

Please Review~


	16. XVI

_Standard disclaimer applied._

Written by Vesper chan (_omg peopel are still reading this!)_

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**Next Chapter~**

**.**

Recap~

_"Kakashi?" she breathed, barely able to keep open her eyes._

_Deidara felt his chest pinch again, but he forced himself to smile. "Hush up now. You need to take care of yourself. Let go of me and get back in the waters, I'll take care of you till you're well again."_

_"Don't leave me, please," she begged, tears forming in the corners of her eyes._

_leaning forward Deidara kissed them away, allowing himself this one indulgence before going back to being her friend. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here."_

End Recap~

.

That night had been one of the most painful and joyous nights in his entire life. he had confessed it with his own swollen lips, the love he knew he harbored for her, but that confession had been meaningless. More aware of his own feelings, he was able to recognize the heat in his heart that made him light with joy when he watched her sleep. But, he also recognized the sharp throb of hurt that came about when she whispered the name of her husband in her sleep.

Deidara washed her down, clothed her in warm, cotton clothing,brushed her teeth, and laid her to bed. She wasn't awake for most of it, and probably won't remember any of it the next morning, but that didn't mean anything to him. So what if she didn't remember one of his most treasured memories for all time? It wasn't a big deal.

He reached forward and grabbed the thin white hand sticking out under the olive colored comforter. He rubbed his thumb over every knuckle before leaning down to kiss the inside of her hand, and then her wrist.

"Please have sweet dreams tonight. Don't fall to any more nightmares," he silently prayed.

And that was how Sasori found his friend, twenty minutes later. Deidara looked up from his spot beside Sakura's bed but didn't move. Sasori would have to come in and drag him away, and that would mean waking Sakura up. More than anything, Sasori did not want any such ill to come to his new master.

"What are you doing?" the redhead hissed in anger.

"Taking care of her, un. What does it look like?"

"Why would you need to do that?" Sasori asked, his tone less harsh and more taunting.

"She has a fever-"

Before the words were even out of his mouth, Deidara felt Sasori fall down next to him and lean against the bed. There was a trace of anger left in the red head's face, but more than that Deidara saw worry and concern in Sasori's expression. The puppeteer leaned forward and pushed the covers back to get a better view of Sakura's face. He felt her cheeks and then the skin of her forehead. His frown only deepened.

"I thought she was drinking outside. She was fine this morning, what happened?" Sasori hissed.

"She got really upset, drank herself into a stupor and had a thrash out in the snow. No one was going to pick her up so I brought her in here and took care of her. She was out there in the snow maybe twenty minutes, but not much more than that."

"If she got wet that that is more than enough time. Why was she drinking so much? She's out cold. She's never out cold after a drink."

Deidara narrowed his lightning blue eyes and glared at the red head. "You mean you don't know. I can hear them out there talking about it. Sakura found out about her husband's execution. She's a widow now."

Sasori's cinnamon eyes grew wide. "Her husband's dead? Sakura is a widow then, a single widow with no husband." A smile began to spread along the lower half of his face. It was subtle, but Deidara caught it. "Yes, that would be some upsetting news to hear, wouldn't it?"

Deidara felt annoyance rise up inside of him. There was no way Sasori sincerely meant what he was saying. There was absolutely no tone of remorse or note of sympathy in his voice. If anything he seemed glad. "Why are you smiling like that then? You can't be glad right now. Sakura might be single, yeah, but she's in pain. His death hurt her and she is suffering because of it. Damn it, can't you think of anyone other than yourself? Think of how Sakura for the love of kami."

"I think of nothing else you maggot ridden fool!" the red head snapped, turning to face Deidara with eyes glowing in anger. "Every waking second of my entire being is spent thinking of her now. I don't exist for a moment without her somewhere in my mind. Her voice, her eyes, her lips, her smile, the feel of her chakra beating inside of me as I'm pulled up from the grave...she is my blood and bones, she is my everything, so of course I think of Sakura."

"If you loved her you wouldn't be upset to see her sick or crying like this."

"Oh, I'm perfectly perturbed with the state of my _kami_, Deidara. But don't confuse your outdated ideals of love for the genuine article. I love Sakura, and because I love Sakura, I hate Kakashi, or any other man that dares to steal her attention away from me. I want her to love me, I want her to look at me, and I want her to be mine. There is a possessive, animalistic spirit that grips me whenever I see another one of you idiots so much as look at her the way I look at her. I tolerate your existence because she deems it so, but I don't like it any one bit. I love Sakura, and because I love her, I'm _happy_ to see that man has died."

Deidara's eyes felt like they were as wide as they could be. He had seen his friend in temper before, and he had seen Sasori in a rage that ended in the deaths of others, but this was something else. This felt like Sasori against the world. This was too much. "You're mad," Deidara breathed.

"Since when has an author been anything but mad?"

"You're more than just mad. You're a monster!"

Sasori turned his face away from the other man and leaned in closer to Sakura, resting his head on the edge of the mattress, inches from her own. When he spoke his tone was so much softer. "I would gladly become the devil himself if that meant being able to love and be loved in return by my most precious princess, my kami, my Sakura."

"I don't think I can stand you anymore. You were always way off on a lot of things, mostly your art, but this is just...urgh," Deidara huffed, pulling at the long strands of free hair that curtained around him. He hadn't worn his hair in in a long while, and was beginning to get used to it down. Also, he secretly believed Sakura preferred him this way, or at least found him more attractive without the ponytail.

"Believe me, the feeling is mutual, my friend," Sasori hummed, running a hand through his own, longer than normal locks. His hair was also out of he cord that usually kept it pulled back and out of his face. Since waking up, his hair had passed his chin in length and was now brushing his shoulders.

Deidara wanted to say something more to insult him, but Sakura chose that moment to cough and turn over in her sleep, pulling her knees up closer to her chest and her arms in front of her face. She licked her lips and tried to swallow, but it sounded painful.

"Water, she needs water," Sasori said, seeming to forget his earlier animosity. If anything, he sounded like a normal caring friend. "Her throat is dry from the low grade drink. Get a small glass of tap water and bring it here. She doesn't need much so hurry."

Deidara was up, running through the halls and into the kitchen in order to complete the task he had been assigned. Without thinking about it too much, he filled the glass with water halfway and rushed back into the room, to where the older nin sat.

Sasori took the cup and moved to lift Sakura's head off the pillow. He rested it against his lap and leaned down over her face to press the rim of the glass to her lips. Acting out of character, Sasori cooed and whispered pleasant things to the girl in his lap till she moved for the water, still mostly asleep.

"She'll be fine, won't she?" Deidara asked, after a minute of unspeaking silence.

Sasori looked up, not seeming too annoyed with the question and moved so Sakura was back on her pillow. "I think it would be wise if someone were to come in and check up on her every now and then, but I do not think she is in any great danger as she is now."

"Should we take shifts?"

"If I recall correctly, that did not work as effectively an as efficiently as it could have. No, someone will come in every other hour to check her condition, but I don't want anyone spending whole nights watching her sleep. As much as I am tempted to, I know that would not please her."

"It is sort of creepy," Deidara admitted, more to himself than his friend.

Nodding, Sasori stood and left for the hallway, stopping in the doorway to turn and glare back at the blond. "Hurry up and leave her alone then. She will be fine for the night, so leave her be."

Hesitantly, Deidara left the room, closing the door behind him.

.

When Sakura woke up the next morning her hangover wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be, but her whole body ached and groaned in pain when she tried to move. She felt sick and tired.

"Damn," she whispered to herself, knowing what had happened to her body.

A cold during this time of the year wasn't a very uncommon thing for the average person, but for a medic like Sakura, it was something rare indeed. She only got sick if she let herself get sick, or if she was mortally wounded and couldn't help herself. Still, it was only a cold, and a minor one at that. She should be better by tomorrow if given enough peace and rest.

She tried to move and felt the hangover read it's ugly head. Slapping a hand over her mouth, she stumbled into the bathroom and emptied her stomach into the toilet. When she was done, there wasn't even bile in her stomach to offer. She had skipped dinner the night before, she remembered. No wonder she felt so empty.

Someone was knocking at the door. Wiping the corner of her mouth, Sakura reached for the sink and began splashing her face with cool water. She had a feeling that without saying anything that whoever it was outside her door would let himself in. She was right

A minute later she heard the knob turn and the door swing open. From the bathroom she watched as a shadow stretched across the floor, followed by a pair of pants.

"Sakura?"

It was Fuyuki.

"I'm in the bathroom, Fu," she called, shortening his name for convenience sake.

She watched the shadow move closer, changing direction. Soon he was standing in the doorway, leaning in hesitantly as if it were improper to be doing such a thing. Seeing her though, he smiled. "It's Fu now?"

"I like it," she admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "Do you not appreciate it. Everyone calls you the same name and I guess it's nice to have some variety in the house."

"Would you like a nickname then, Sakura?"

She laughed a little laugh that didn't seem to be wholly genuine. There was a roughness to it, and she felt it just as well as she heard it. And by the look he was giving her, Sakura suspected that Fuyuki heard it too.

"Is there something wrong with your voice?" he asked, taking a step forward.

"I just woke up," she answered, holding up a hand as if to keep him from advancing upon her. "Sorry, I'm still a bit groggy. What time is it now?"

Fuyuki smiled, taking a step backwards. "It's almost noon, but it is still morning, so you're not too late to wake up. Hidan is still out like a log if that makes you feel any better. Between the two of you, he drank less but seemed all the more hammered from it. Would you like something to eat?"

She shook her head, tasting the vomit still on her teeth. "I'm not hungry at the moment. Where are Kisame and Kakuzu? I haven't seen either of them for a while...Zetsu as well, but I know that Zetsu sleeps twice as much during the cold months, so I don't expect to see him popping all over the place. Still, Kakuzu has been oddly absent as of late."

"I don't think he likes you very much, Kakuzu I mean, not Kisame. Kisame is on a jog right now but I don't know where Kakuzu is. He just shows up when he wants to and then goes where he wants to without letting any of us know. I haven't seen much of him myself, to be honest." The white haired male frowned, watching Sakura's face as it took on a look of concern. "Should I be worried?"

"Nah," Sakura breathed, turning away from Fuyuki and instead reaching for a class kept by the bathroom's sink. She filled it half way with water and then took a long gulp, washing away the sores in her throat. "I don't care much for him, personally. I just feel better when I know where he is. All the same, I don't care right now. I need to get out of the house for a while and sort some things out."

"You're not going to treat Itachi's eyes this morning?" Sakura froze, remembering what she had let slip from her memory.

"Damn it, I forgot," she whispered, reaching up to run her fingers through her hair. "Yeah, I should do that first. You know where he is right now? I'll be ready in a minute but I want to treat him in the living room."

The white haired male nodded, tabbing the wood of the door frame absently. "I can tell him that for you."

"Please?"

He smiled, pleasing her. Without another word he slipped away, taking his shadow with him. Sakura waited till she could hear the sound of her bedroom door closing before she reached for the hem of her nightshirt.

Disrobing, Sakura stood in front of the mirror, free to examine her unclothed body in silence. There were plenty of faint and old scars that hid themselves deep in the skin of her body, but there were plenty of new ones from her most recent fight. They were still dark and noticeable.

If she had the heart and time for it, she could fix them with new skin grafts and a little of her own chakra, but she decided against it. It wasn't as if she had anyone to look nice for anymore. Sure there were guys pining after her in her own home, but they weren't her husband.

Sakura leaned forward , bracing herself against the counter top. She raised her shoulders and watched as her collarbone became overly pronounced. leaning forward and turning to the side, she could see each and every one of her ribs sticking out against the flesh barrier of her body. Shoulder blades, spinal cord, hip bones, they were all overly pronounced in comparison to what she was used to seeing. She was starving and sick, but she wasn't hungry in the least. When did she let herself get this bad?

"It shouldn't matter anymore," she said aloud, touching the glass and pushing her body away from it. "As long as I am alive, I'm fine. As long as I've survived I will manage."

She reached for a brush and ran it through her hair before pulling it back in a low tail. She dressed in a form fitting long sleeve and some baggy ninja pants that turned skinny when it got to her calves. Dousing her face with another wave of water, she patted it dry and took a look at herself in the mirror. She looked better for still having a fever.

She left her room and found Itachi where she had asked him to be. He looked up when he heard her approaching, though he couldn't find her face with his still bad eyes. Behind him sat Fuyuki, watching from his spot curled up on the couch.

"Are you going to watch, Fu?" Sakura asked, running a hand through her hair before positioning herself in front of Itachi. The Uchiha frowned when he heard the nickname, but Sakura either didn't see or didn't care. Back on the couch, the white haired male smiled broadly, obviously enjoying himself.

"If you don't mind, Sakura. I don't have anything else to do, and I've practically gone stir crazy."

Sakura shrugged, but then raised her hands. "Are you ready Itachi. I'm going to begin some minor repairs on your eyes to set them up for later, when I plan to fully restore them. You may be able to see some better defined shadows, but I am afraid your vision will not be returned today."

"I understand," he said, bowing his head just a bit before gazing up again.

Taking the initiative, Sakura placed her hands on his face and let the chakra spread from her fingertips. She felt him shiver a bit at the mental touch, but it didn't seem to be unpleasant. It felt like building up a honeycomb, only at 1/1,000,000 (one millionth) of the size. It was slow going, but soon she got the hang of it and was able to move faster, pulling the materials out of his own organ and reassembling them.

She felt a snap in her chakra and knew that was all she would be able to do today. Pulling her healing green light away from his eyes, she removed her hands and stepped away. She heard him breath deeply and watched as he reached up to feel his eyes.

"Are you okay. How is it?" she asked.

"It's beautiful," he whispered, moving his hands out in front of him. "I can only make out blobs of dim colors, but that is at least something of an improvement, is it not?"

"I'm sorry I could not do more. Try not to strain your eyes too much. I don't want to have to repair what I have already built out of your eyes, understand." She made a move to leave, but he caught her wrist. She raised a single brow in surprise. "Could you see that?" she asked.

"No, that was reflex. Your hands were very warm. Are you sure you are well?"

She glance up behind him at Fuyuki still on the couch and frowned. "Yeah, perfectly fine. I'm just a bit warm from...last night. But I'm well enough to be up and about. Trust the doctor, won't you?"

"You should rest."

"I've rested enough. If I sit around doing nothing I'm bound to go crazy and do something dangerous. I...right now I really don't want to let my mind have ant time to think about things. I need to get out."

His hold on her wrist slackened a bit, but Itachi didn't let her go. She turned her wrist around so her hand could wrap around his own wrist. There she rubbed her thumb against his skin. Even though he couldn't see it, she also smiled for him. She knew better than to believe he had any malicious reasons for keeping her inside. He was just concerned for her, and that was sweet.

"Try not to worry, okay?"

"Mn," he answered, letting go of her wrist and standing up. Itachi looked towards her face, seeing only a messy blob of peach color and pale pink. The corner of his lips twitched upwards just a fraction before he moved around her and left the room.

Sakura heard Fuyuki mumbling something to himself as he buried the lower half of his face in a pillow. Looking over at him she raised a single brow in question. "Yes?"

"...You said you were fine, but you still have a fever, don't you?"

"It's nothing I can't handle. please just, don't worry about me, if anything, it's my mental state you should all be concerned with. I'll survive a cold but If I have to stay in bed and rest I think I will go crazy and kill someone."

"Just as long as it isn't me," Fu muttered into his pillow, causing Sakura to snicker.

"Fine. I'm going out for a run. I plan on being back in time to make dinner again, so don't start without me."

Fuyuki waved to her as she left for the mud room where she kept her thicker boots and a long, trailing coat that was easy to move around in. Still being a cautious shinobi, she made sure her pockets were filled with supplies and other dangerous weapons in case she ran into any trouble. Her chakra reserves were a little low from working with Itachi, but they should be back to normal in an hour or more.

Felling like she was ready, Sakura left the mud room and began her journey into the woodlands behind her house. With fresh snow on the ground, she spent a lot of time hopping from tree to tree, and leaping over large drifts that could be coming up anything.

The land was familiar to her after living such a long time in the area. She knew where the best spots to catch wild boar were, and where the pretties views were for sunsets in the middle of summer. She had planned on showing all this to her husband once he managed to make it out of Leaf, but it seemed as if that was never going to happen.

Sakura dropped down from one of the higher branches of a tree, and rolled along the snow till she was where she wanted to be. High up on a ledge facing west, this was one of the prettiest places she had ever found. She saw all the mountains stretching out around her, at night she could see lights from the village, but it was so far away it was hard to see normally. It was also a prime location for sun set viewings. yes, this was probably her favorite place.

"Here," she said to herself out loud, as if confirming it for the world to hear.

Standing back, she flexed her fingers before forming a half dozen hand seals. She whispered something into her fingers before the earth began to move. Out from the ledge sprang a neatly polished stone, carved and styled in the shape of a traditional headstone.

When Sakura opened her eyes, the name of her husband stared back at her. In the gleam from the polish she could see her own face reflected. Tears were trailing down her face, but she didn't feel anything, nor did she remember crying them. Gingerly, she touched the teardrops with her fingertips, checking to see if they were real, before she wiped her face clean with the palm of her hand.

_'You know, it's only a matter of time before the gods get jealous and kill me for the fun of it,' Kakashi once told her, when they were along on a friend's rooftop, gazing at the stars._

_'Why do you say that?' she had asked, sounding confused, but also amused._

_'No one as old and dirty as me should hope to be as lucky as I am now. I mean, it doesn't make sense, you ending up with me. You know how many men here on earth want to kill me for that? There has to be someone up there in heaven having a bad day when they see how lucky I am. I have the world's pretties wife, and she loves me back.'_

_'You say that like you're a dirty old man or something.'_

_'I am, Sakura. I'm not a little boy anymore,' he teased, leaning forward off his elbows to kiss her cheek_

_She giggled, leaning into the kiss. 'Nah, that's how I see you, though. You're _my_ boy_. I'm not going to let any angry god take you away from me.'

Leaning forward, she brought out the things she had prepared in advance. A rice bow, two incense sticks, and her wedding ring. Lighting the sticks between her fingers, she set them out and knelt beside the gravestone.

"Leaves from the vine, falling so slow. Like fragile tiny shells, drifting in the foam. Little soldier boy, come marching home. Brave soldier boy, comes marching home. Ash in the snow falling so slow. Like fragile, broken hearts with no place to go. Little soldier boy, come marching home. Brave soldier boy, come marching home."

She choked a bit on her own tears, hating how she had to sing the old folk song he made her promise to have at his funeral. It was what they sung for all those who died in Leaf...or at least what they used to sing. This tradition was probably gone along with the old ways.

The wind bit her lips, but she was determined to finish his song, even if it did make her throat want to close up. "Leaves from the vine changing so slow. Like empty, fallen souls, looking for a home... Little soldier boy thought he could soar. Brave soldier boy... died in their war."

In the end she was sobbing against the gravestone, too tired to even curse the gods that had exacted their unjust revenge on her solider boy husband. She fell asleep there, waking in time to watch the sun set in the distance, bathing the world in fire colored rays before being snuffed out by the earth once more.

It was in that darkness that Sakura's heart hardened enough for her to realize what she needed to do. Dnazo would not stop tearing families apart and killing loved ones so long as he lived. Her husband might be dead, but her friends still lived, and she was finally determined to save them.

.

.

.

_Leaves from the vine_  
_Falling so slow_  
_Like fragile, tiny shells_  
_Drifting in the foam_  
_Little soldier boy_  
_Come marching home_  
_Brave soldier boy_  
_Come marching home_

_Ash in the snow_  
_Falling so slow_  
_Like fragile, broken hearts_  
_With no place to go_  
_Little soldier boy_  
_Come marching home_  
_Brave soldier boy_  
_Come marching home_

_He thought he knew_  
_What he was fighting for_  
_But the sight of blood_  
_Made him wonder why there was war_  
_Poor soldier boy_  
_Cold and alone_  
_Bombs fall like rain_  
_He's all alone._  
_They're all alone._

_Those leaves did grow_  
_From branches overgrown_  
_Drifting slowly down_  
_Resting among the snow_  
_Little soldier boy_  
_Taken from home_  
_Forced to fight a war_  
_That's not his own._

_Leaves from the vine_  
_Changing so slow_  
_Like empty, fallen souls_  
_Looking for a home_  
_Little soldier boy_  
_Thought he could soar_  
_Brave soldier boy_  
_Died in their war_

_-Leaves from the Vine  
Taken from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Soundtrack music_

.

.

.

.

Bad ass, butt kicking Sakura is on the way, (_eventually)_.

Okay, so that was not how this was supposed to end. I can't seem to be able to control how these chapters come out anymore. I had something **so** much different in mind, but the story seemed to take a huge, red, REJECTED sticker to my face and make this turn out all sappy and sad and sob-educing.

I would highly recommend listening to this song, (Leaves from the Vine), on youtube when reading the part about Sakura singing to Kakashi's gravestone. That was what I did when I wrote the piece and I had a pretty hard time keeping my eyes dry. I've been coming off a Avatar/Legend of Korra craze, in case anyone cares.

But yeah, this ending pleased me greatly. I like the way this is going, and I can not wait until she decided to kick some butt. Other things will happen, of course, and...and...yeah, I'm getting to it. Originally there was going to be some action at the end of this chapter when she finds (something) in the woods and going into fight mode, but nah...

On another note, I'm surprised people are still reading this.

Please _**REVIEW**_~


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